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AMD

AMD Here s Why It s Climbing

AMD Unveils The Wraith Cooled A10 7890K APU Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ AMD made a huge announcement last night The company has created the fastest APU ever and it s going to become available relatively soon This is great for those that play games on their computer as it will allow for faster processing and more detailed graphics For those that are more into dedicated graphics cards AMD didn t forget you either The company also unveiled its fastest multi core Athlon ever a product known as X4 880K CPU In a statement AMD had the following words of encouragement to offer Setting a new APU Standard the new AMD A10 7890K is the fastest AMD desktop APU released to date with 1 02 TFLOPS of the theoretical compute performance This new processor has been paired with the top of the line AMD Wraith Cooler to deliver a high performance combination enabling best in class online gaming while offering near silent operation for a premium experience Gamers will be able to enjoy playing the most popular online and eSports games right out of the box on high settings with the new AMD A10 790K APU which is capable of providing smooth frame rates in some of the most popular online games How The Market Reacted To The News As investors we know that the news moves the market Any time there is positive news with regard to a publicly traded company we can expect to see gains in the value of the company s stock Adversely negative news will generally cause declines However there are few pieces of news that have the potential cause movement in the market quite like product releases Ultimately AMD investors know that new products mean upgrades for those that already use AMD hardware and more opportunities with those that don t This has the potential to drive massive amounts of revenue and profit As a result the stock is climbing in the market today Currently 11 17 AMD is trading at 2 29 per share after a gain of 0 11 or 4 82 thus far today What We Can Expect From AMD Moving Forward Moving forward I have a relatively bullish opinion of what we can expect to see from AMD The reality is that the new product release is likely to drive massive amounts of revenue making earnings look great and generating investor excitement Not to mention investors and analysts alike were already excited about the stock before the company revealed the new products It is expected that AMD will more than double in price to 5 per share over the next year or so The bottom line is that AMD has a line of great products a great team and a clear plan for success Between these factors the company has the recipe to make big things happen All in all things are looking great for AMD

AMD

AMD Here s Why Investors Are Excited

Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ AMD had a tough time in the market over the past five years Through this time the stock has seen more than 70 of its value disappear into the abyss However the year 2016 has been incredibly good to the company So far this year the stock has climbed by nearly 40 and thanks to recent announcements we re likely to see further gains Just days ago AMD made a big announcement with regard to virtual reality that s likely to send the stock soaring Today we ll talk about the announcement what we ve seen from AMD since and what we can expect to see from the stock moving forward Advanced Micro Devices Moves Toward Virtual Reality On Monday AMD had an incredible day in the market after unveiling new virtual reality hardware and software features During the showcase the company showed off new graphics processing unit technology They also announced the launch of a new GPU certified program Perhaps most importantly AMD made a big statement in one of their announcements They stated that they believe they hold about 83 market share of home entertainment virtual reality systems This may seem far fetched and hard to believe but in reality it is definitely possible After all VR is a very new industry and it requires incredibly advanced chips Advanced Micro Devices has the chips and is surely a big player in the industry In a statement Raja Koduri senior vice president and chief architect at the company s Radoeon Technologies Group had the following to say AMD continues to be a driving force in virtual reality We re bringing the technology to more people around the world How The Market Reacted To The News As investors we know that the news moves the market When there is good news released with regard to a publicly traded company we expect to see gains Adversely when bad news is released we expect to see losses Naturally Advanced Micro Devices announcement that it is a major player in the virtual reality space is incredibly good news and is sending the stock upward In fact since Monday we ve seen strong upward trends on the stock that are continuing in the market today Currently 10 50 AMD is trading at 2 76 per share after a gain of 0 13 per share or 4 94 thus far today What We Can Expect To See Moving Forward As AMD continues to dominate in the market as it has done for the most part of the year investors are starting to ask whether or not they should invest in the company The truth is that I understand the hesitance associated with investing in AMD As mentioned above the stock has been heading downward over the past 5 years However at this point I believe that the downward trends are over for AMD First and foremost the company s virtual reality computer chips are incredibly important to the vast majority of VR systems Because virtual reality is already incredibly popular I would imagine that this is going to be a very profitable space for all involved including Advanced Micro Devices While virtual reality is a big driver I believe that another big driver of movement is going to be computerized gaming and possibly even drones The simple fact is that at this point AMD has carved out a clear niche and it just so happens to be a very profitable one So I m expecting to see gains in the value of the stock

T

Stocks Continue To Cheer Tax Deal

Hey everybody Dave Bartosiak here for fellow Marquette alum Jim Jimmy G Giaquinto He ll be back with you tomorrow Another day another dollar in the markets today as the tax overhaul on Capitol Hill hit the history books We are beginning to see estimates coming in from Wall Street firms trying to gauge the impact of the cuts Already there have been a few announcements from companies like AT T NYSE T saying that they are passing out bonuses based on the tax cuts If you re looking for some wage push inflation perhaps this is the start The rally today started in the morning and slowed into the closing with the mega caps of the Dow leading the way The Dow added 55 64 points or 23 bps at 24 782 29 The S P 500 was up 5 32 points good for 20 bps at 2 684 57 The NASDAQ traded sideways adding just 4 4 points or 6 bps at 6 965 36 Today s Highlights Kevin Matras rang the register on his Landstar trade in Options Trader He pulled the trigger on closing out the Jan 95 Call more than doubling up on the trade rocking out for 110 gain Despite still being bullish on the trade he took the huge victory I still like LSTR But for now we have more than doubled our premium and with only 28 days left until expiration it s time to pull those profits off the table I see myself repositioning in this one soon Either on an upside breakout or a pullback Stay tuned But for now let s take our profit Tracey Ryniec wants you to remember that the Santa Claus Rally period hasn t even hit the market yet despite us rallying so much recently In her Insider Trader today she wrote With the 3 day Christmas holiday now looming I m expecting stock traders to take tomorrow off It should be a low volume trading session Congress also passed a funding bill to keep the government open into January which also should take away any surprises tomorrow Remember the Santa Claus Rally officially begins next week It is the week in between Christmas and New Years as well as the first two trading days of the new year Another theme in Tracey s write up the impact of a surging energy sector was echoed by Jeremy Mullin in Counterstrike today Commenting on crude Jeremy said Energy stocks continue to impress while crude oil just sits at 58 a barrel I think the smart money is preparing for a big year in the energy space in 2018 They are already buying the stocks crude oil over 60 will help the momentum continue Once again ETFs XLE NYSE XLE and XOP ripped higher both seeing moves over 2 Luckily we got some exposure in the space last week with COP which was up 3 today Small cap energy is a great place to be in order to benefit from the tax bill Domestic producers will likely be one of the largest beneficiaries of the deal That s all I ve got for you folks today Jim will be back with you folks tomorrow Remember the market closes early in observance of Christmas while Monday there will be no trading in equities Have a great night Dave Recommendations from Zacks Private Portfolios Believe it or not this article is not available on the Zacks com website The commentary is a partial overview of the daily activity from Zacks private recommendation services If you would like to follow our Buy and Sell signals in real time we ve made a special arrangement for readers of this website Starting today you can see all the recommendations from all of Zacks portfolios absolutely free for 7 days Our services cover everything from value stocks and momentum trades to insider buying and positive earnings surprises which we ve predicted with an astonishing 80 accuracy

T

FCC s 2B CAF Auction To Strengthen Network In Rural U S

Leading wireline and wireless service providers that are interested in extending their reach in rural United States with high speed broadband services will get a chance to bid for an additional 2 billion in government s Connect America Fund II CAFII subsidy In 2015 the Federal Communications Commission had FCC offered more than 10 billion over the next six years in CAFII subsidy to deploy high speed Internet connections through rural United States In May 2016 the FCC had approved a reverse auction to provide an additional 2 billion in funds to rural broadband providers through its CAF II program in an effort to accelerate growth The FCC will adopt four technology neutral service standards 1 delivering 10 1 Mbps speed 2 delivering 25 3 Mbps and offering a usage allowance of 150 GB a month 3 meeting an above baseline tier that requires bidders to provide 100 20 Mbps and 4 an unlimited monthly usage allowance and meeting a Gigabit performance tier that requires bidders to provide at least 1 Gbps downstream and 500 Mbps upstream and offer an unlimited monthly usage allowance In 2015 several large wireline operators including AT T Inc NYSE T CenturyLink Inc NYSE T Frontier Communications Corp NYSE T and Windstream Holdings Inc NASDAQ WIN accepted 9 billion over a period of six years from Phase II of the Connect America Fund to expand broadband in their rural service areas Later in March 2016 the FCC reformed its broadband support for the nation s smallest carriers providing 20 billion over the next decade CenturyLink carries a Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell while AT T Frontier and Windstream carry a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Double Edged Sword of TrumpPresident Donald Trump s proposed policy changes have made the overall economic outlook fairly bullish The two pro growth agendas of Trump namely significant cut in corporate tax and deregulation are major catalysts to the U S economy The proposal to reduce corporate taxes from their current 35 to 20 is likely to bring corporate tax rate at its historic low in 78 years The tax proposal is likely to provide incentives to companies to repatriate accumulated profits from overseas with an even lower tax rate Additionally Trump has stated that he wants to do away with nearly 75 of all governmental regulations during his term as President Major proposals like a pledge to spend 1 trillion in infrastructure projects over a period of 10 years coupled with the above mentioned policy changes are likely to spur higher consumer spending that may create about 25 million new jobs over a decade This in turn will fuel long term economic growth Bottom LineThe telecommunications industry is witnessing rapid technological improvement A growing economy speeds up the demand for real time voice data and video manifold The escalation in demand for telecom services in the rural areas has encouraged telecom service providers to undertake large network extensions while upgrading plans Zacks Editor in Chief Goes All In on This StockFull disclosure Kevin Matras now has more of his own money in one particular stock than in any other He believes in its short term profit potential and also in its prospects to more than double by 2019 Today he reveals and explains his surprising move in a new Special Report

PFE

Big Cap Pharma Is Turning Up

Tuesday morning I wrote about how Healthcare was ready to take some leadership again and it is moving a bit although everything is But lets talk specifics Here are 3 stocks that all are reversing back higher on the weekly timeframe Eli Lilly LLYEli Lilly LLY is bouncing off of the 20 week Simple Moving Average nearly equivalent to the 100 day SMA after a short pullback this pullback reset the Relative Strength Index RSI back below the technically over bought level and pulled down the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator MACD from its recent new high on the signal line The Measured Move higher takes it to 67 50 Merck MRKMerck MRK pulled back from its recent high on the earnings report and is now heading back higher The RSI is also moving back higher after resting off the technically overbought level and the MACD is leveling The Measured Move higher on this one takes it to 53 Pfizer PFEPfizer PFE is doing the same thing settling after pulling back and now reversing higher The RSI is back rising and the MACD has pulled back a bit and is stabilizing The Measured Move higher in this name takes it to about 35 The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog please see my page for my full disclaimer

PFE

Clovis Oncology Skyrockets After ASCO Presentations

Clovis CLVS is an acquisition focused biopharmaceutical company that stayed under the radar after its NASDAQ IPO in November 2011 With two notable early stage oncology compounds in its pipeline Clovis didn t really attract much interest from the market until yesterday June 3rd 2013 when the company reported results from ongoing Phase I II trials for both CO 1686 and Rucaparib CO 1686 was originally designed by a biotech company named Avila Therapeutics a covalent drug focused entity that was acquired by Celgene on March 7th 2012 in a 925 M deal The compound was introduced to the Clovis pipeline in a 209 M partnership made in 2010 between Avila and Clovis and the IND application was accepted not long before the company held its IPO on April 3rd 2012 The molecule is a covalent drug that irreversibly inhibits epidermal growth factor receptor EGFR which aids cancer cells in proliferation Clovis is specifically developing it as a non small cell lung cancer NSCLC treatment since it can bypass certain obstacles in NSCLC cells that other EGFR inhibitors cannot Lung cancers that are caused by EGFR are initially responsive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors that can inhibit their catalytic activity although mutations in the lung cancer cells like the T790M resistance mutation can ultimately shut down the viability of TKI based mechanisms of action for drugs like gefitinib Iressa and erlotinib Tarceva Unlike other EGFR inhibitors CO 1686 is designed to irreversibly inhibit mutated versions of EGFR including T790M while ignoring wild type normal EGFR This is a particularly desirable trait since a molecule with potent and irreversible EGFR inhibition would be highly toxic to patients Because of this particular trait the strong safety data that Clovis reported at ASCO 2013 was particularly exciting to Wall Street The stock moved up 104 on the Monday following the presentation and the market capitalization of the company hovered around 2 B for the first time since Clovis IPO in late 2011 Also important to the rally was the strong data that company presented for the drug Rucaparib which is a potent PARP inhibitor or a Poly ADP ribose polymerase inhibitor being developed for breast ovarian cancer indications This compound was originally one of Pfizer s oncology drugs and was named PF 01367338 during its tenure as drug for solid tumors although the development was handed over to Clovis in a deal announced in 2011 that gave Clovis full responsibility over the development and commercialization of the compound in exchange for an upfront payment and milestone payments of up to 255 M This is an unusual move for an early stage pharmaceutical company although Clovis was and is better funded than most companies in the sector What was so exciting about the CO 1686 and Rucaparib data was that both drugs demonstrated efficacy in their respective early stage trials without reaching MTD maximum tolerated dose The implication is that the efficacy of these drugs may be significantly boosted in Phase II trials which bodes well for the company s hopes for expedited approval for its oncology pipeline CO 1686 was probably the more exciting of the two candidates after the results it demonstrated in non small cell lung cancer although optimal dosing has not been established yet Although the drug was extremely well tolerated the safety profile should improve as the company switches from a capsule to a tablet formulation a move which will triple the plasma concentration of CO 1686 per dose This may allow the company to significantly increase the already promising efficacy From the company s ASCO related for CO 1686 One patient with a del19 T790M tumor had progressed on erlotinib immediately before beginning CO 1686 therapy The patient enrolled in the 300 mg BID cohort is currently in cycle 6 of CO 1686 therapy with a confirmed PROne patient with an L858R T790M tumor had received six previous lines of therapy including two previous TKIs dacomitinib and erlotinib and had most recently progressed on a combination of erlotinib and gemcitibine immediately before beginning CO 1686 therapy This patient has demonstrated tumor shrinkage in brain metastases present at baseline as well as lung and liver tumors The patient enrolled in the 900mg BID cohort exhibited a PR in cycle 4 of CO 1686 therapy treatment is ongoingOne patient with a del19 T790M tumor had received two previous lines of therapy This patient exhibited a PR in cycle 2 and is currently being dosed in cycle 3 at 900mg BIDOne patient with a del19 T790M tumor had received two lines of prior cytotoxic chemotherapy and had also progressed on erlotinib treatment This patient exhibited a PR in cycle 2 and is currently in cycle 3 receiving 900mg BIDTwo additional T790M patients have achieved greater than 20 percent target lesion shrinkage with stable non target lesionsRucaparib which also drew major interest presented 89 clinical benefit rate in ovarian cancer patients across all the dosage arms and was well tolerated with objective responses in BRCA mutant ovarian breast and pancreatic cancer patients as a monotherapy This helps to build the case that this could become a popular breast ovarian cancer therapy that can be combined with a chemotherapeutic agent in a first line regimen

AMD

Advanced Micro Devices Transformative Growth

Restructure accelerate transform Advanced Micro Devices Inc NYSE AMD has already restructured operations and is now transforming itself from a supplier of PC microprocessors and graphics controllers to an SoC supplier of application specific integrated circuits ASICs to PC tablet game console professional graphics embedded products and cloud server applications New products accounted for over 30 of H213 sales and management is targeting 50 by the end of 2015 Q4 video game upside Revenue grew by 9 sequentially above expectations to 1 6bn Pro forma gross margin was weak at 35 on a richer mix of new video game SoCs Pro forma EPS met expectations at 0 06 and pro forma positive free cash flow goal for H213 was achieved Cash equivalents and both short and long term marketable securities exceeded targeted 1 1bn by 100m while debt was flat but greater at 2 1bn Computing products declined by 9 to 45 of sales with a 7m operating loss due to consumer notebook PC weakness while graphics and SoCs grew by 29 to 54 of sales with 121m in operating income due to video game strength from both Microsoft and Sony launches Guidance for Q1 calls for a seasonal revenue decline of 13 19 after two quarters of both revenue growth and earnings Transformative growth New products expected to drive revenue growth and profitability at Advanced Micro Devices for 2014 include continued strength from SoCs for video games to Microsoft and Sony the new Kaveri processor for underserved desktop PCs new low power Beema and Mullins processors for tablets and ultrathin notebooks new Radeon mobile discrete graphics processors to Dell Lenovo and others new AMD FirePro professional graphics subsystems for the Mac Pro and others embedded offerings for digital signage cash registers and medical devices and cloud server offerings including SeaMicro systems and the new Seattle 64 bit ARM processor sampling this quarter Valuation Upside from growth Advanced Micro Devices is currently trading at 0 5x sales and 26 7x earnings based on 2015 estimates as well as 5 6x book value We believe the shares can easily trade at 1 0 2 0x sales consistent with its semiconductor peers as the company grows revenues from new products establishes consistent and improving profitability and lowers its debt ratio over the next few quarters To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

AMD

Here s What The Buy Side Expects From AMD Thursday

Advanced Micro Devices Inc NYSE AMD is set to report FQ1 2014 earnings after the market closes on Thursday April 17th AMD is a large semiconductor company which produces computer processors motherboard chipsets graphics processing units and other hardware products AMD along with its competitor Nvidia dominate the GPU market This quarter Wall Street is expecting a strong earnings report out of AMD to the tune of 22 9 year over year revenue growth In FQ1 last year AMD reported a loss but still beat analysts expectations This quarter the Street expects AMD to erase its losses and post 0c EPS Here s what investors expect from AMD Thursday The information below is derived from data submitted to the Estimize com platform by a set of Buy Side and Independent analyst contributors The current Wall Street consensus expectation is for AMD to report 0c EPS and 1 337B revenue while the current Estimize com consensus from 33 Buy Side and Independent contributing analysts is 2c EPS and 1 361B in revenue This quarter the buy side as represented by the Estimize com community is expecting AMD to beat the Wall Street consensus on both EPS and revenue by a small margin Over the past 6 quarters the consensus from Estimize com has been more accurate than Wall Street in forecasting AMD s EPS and revenue 4 times each By tapping into a wider range of contributors including hedge fund analysts asset managers independent research shops students and non professional investors Estimize has created a data set that is more accurate than Wall Street up to 69 5 of the time but more importantly it does a better job of representing the market s actual expectations It has been confirmed by Deutsche Bank Quant Research and an independent academic study from Rice University that stock prices tend to react with a more strongly associated degree to the expectation benchmark from Estimize than from the Wall Street consensus The magnitude of the difference between the Wall Street and Estimize consensus numbers often identifies opportunities to take advantage of expectations that may not have been priced into the market In this case we are seeing a small to moderate difference between the two groups expectations The distribution of estimates published by analysts on the Estimize com platform range from 3c to 10c EPS and from 1 321B to 1 421B in revenues This quarter we re seeing a large distribution of EPS estimates and a moderate range of revenue estimates on AMD The size of the distribution of estimates relative to previous quarters often signals whether or not the market is confident that it has priced in the expected earnings already A wider distribution of estimates signaling less agreement in the market which could mean more volatility post earnings Over the past 4 months the Wall Street EPS consensus inched higher from 1c to 0c while the Estimize consensusrose from 1c to 2c Meanwhile Wall Street lowered its revenue consensus by 51M while the Estimize community kept its expectations relatively flat Timeliness is correlated with accuracy at the end of the quarter both groups were comfortable in keeping their consensus expectations flat The analyst with the highest estimate confidence rating this quarter is turbinecity who projects 1c EPS and 1 343B in revenue turbinecity was our Winter 2014 season winner and is ranked among over 4 100 contributing analysts Over the past 2 years turbinecity has been more accurate than Wall Street in forecasting EPS and revenue 59 and 55 of the time respectively 1644 estimates Estimate confidence ratings are calculated through algorithms developed by deep quantitative research which looks at correlations between analyst track records and tendencies as they relate to future accuracy In this case turbinecity is expecting AMD to miss the Estimize community s expectations on both EPS and revenue Last year in FQ1 AMD lost 13c per share this time around the Estimize community expects a profitable quarter On Thursday the Estimize community is looking for year over year gains of 15c in EPS and a substantial 273M 25 increase on revenue Get access to estimates for AMD published by your Buy Side and Independent analyst peers and follow the rest of earnings season by heading over to Estimize com Register for free to create your own estimates and see how you stack up to Wall Street

AMD

When Stocks Breakdown 4 Case Studies

The ability to recognize shifts in market sentiment and momentum through price action analysis is an essential characteristic of a skilled trader and investor This talent is not born overnight In fact it can take weeks or months of watching a stock closely to acquire a familiarity with its fluctuations over various time frames and develop the eye to discern key changes in price It must be emphasized that stocks trade both up and down and that we can make money in either direction By entering a long position we profit by buying a stock at a low price and selling it at a higher price We only make money if the stock price rises bullish bias By entering a short position we profit by selling a stock at a high price and buying it back at a lower price We only make money if the stock price falls bearish bias The problem with short selling is it s still not particularly well accepted as an American way of investing Bill Ackman Hedge Fund Manager in a Reuters Impact Players Interview on 4 8 2013 Most people are familiar with betting on a rise in stock prices and thus going long as this is what is traditionally presented as the primary way to make money in the market Going short is not as well understood in part due to the stigma associated with it as well as the lack of education about it Let s take a look at some examples of stocks we ve highlighted recently and a few new ones which all share one thing in common notable breakdowns in price that traders with a preference for entering and profiting from short positions can learn from 1 Zillow Inc NASDAQ Z In our last post about Z we noted that the stock s close below its multi week support level at 123 on Friday 9 26 14 was a significant price breakdown in favor of the bears On 9 26 14 Z closed at just under 122 a share In the two weeks that followed the bears have completely run over the bulls with the stock falling nearly 20 a share It closed Friday 10 10 14 at 104 79 Let s watch to see if 100 holds as a support level on any continued selling pressure 2 Bitauto Holdings Limited NYSE BITA We last wrote about BITA and brought attention to the stock s incredible summer climax run from the low 40s At the time BITA had traded as high as 85 a share The stock went on to trade even higher reaching its pinnacle of 98 28 the week of 8 25 14 The high 70s provided support for the bulls on subsequent pullbacks in price until the beginning of October when BITA closed at just under 75 a share on Friday 10 3 14 In the week that followed BITA pulled back further It closed Friday 10 10 14 at 64 10 We will be watching to see if the high 50s hold as a support level on any continued move lower 3 National Bank of Greece NYSE NBG On 10 7 14 we issued a on NBG noting its break below long term support at 3 on Friday 10 3 14 when it closed at 2 86 a share Although the stock had tested the 3 level several times since late 2013 it had never closed below it on the weekly time frame By the close of trading on 10 10 14 NBG had fallen to 2 68 It had traded as low as 2 55 earlier that week The stock is now in uncharted territory and we can thus make no determination on what the next support level may be 4 Advanced Micro Devices NYSE AMD Since May 2013 AMD has traded above 3 a share Last week it traded below 3 and closed Friday 10 10 14 at 2 72 a share This is an important breakdown in price as the bulls failed to support the stock from the onslaught of heavy selling pressure If the bulls are unable to regroup it would not surprise us in the least to see a further pullback in price Support currently seems to be in the mid 2s going back to late 2012 early 2013

PFE

Athersys QuickView

Investment Summary Gathering MomentumAthersys stock has gained 25 in the last month to trade at an 18 month high We believe positive biotech sentiment in general and burgeoning interest in stem cells and regenerative medicine in particular are contributory factors For Athersys the key near term catalyst is headline data in Q413 from a Phase II study of its MultiStem product allogeneic stem cells from adult bone marrow for ulcerative colitis UC conducted by partner Pfizer Positive results would provide important clinical validation of MultiStem and help to de risk other opportunities A Significant Market Opportunity UCDecision Resources predicts the drug market for UC will double to 3 7bn by 2021 driven by the use of current Remicade Humira and prospective Simponi anti TNFs and newer agents such as vedolizumab and tofacitinib Yet these numbers do not project the potential impact of cell based therapies which could be significant for patients intolerant of or failing to respond to these treatments Robust Trial DesignIn February 2011 Pfizer and Athersys initiated the Phase II study in up to 126 patients with moderate to severe UC Mayo score 6 who are intolerant unresponsive to multiple current treatments including anti TNFs Low and high doses of MultiStem are being tested in the 16 week safety efficacy study and primary endpoints include incidence severity of adverse events up to one year changes in endoscopic valuation Baron score and the Mayo rectal bleeding sub score In a mouse model of graft vs host disease MultiStem cell treatment resulted in almost complete reversal of gastrointestinal pathology similar to UC pathology Clinical Validation OpportunityResults in UC will be the first Phase II data for the MultiStem technology a significant milestone for Athersys and potential trigger for Pfizer to advance MultiStem into pivotal studies in UC and or Crohn s disease The 2009 Pfizer deal provides for up to 105m in milestones and royalties on sales Valuation 98m EV And RisingWith an estimated 21m in cash at end Q113 Athersys EV is now 98m and we see this rising further on positive UC data Results in H114 from a Phase II study of MultiStem in ischaemic stroke a high risk but high reward indication is a potentially transformational event for Athersys To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

AMD

Circadian Technologies Divine Prospects Based On Reorganization

Divine prospectsCircadian CIR AX has reorganised into three subsidiary operating companies Ceres Oncology Opthea and Precision Diagnostics each of which could attract private funding The Ceres investment case is the potential of VGX 100 completing Phase I to reduce secondary lymphoedema a side effect of major breast cancer surgery This may start Phase II in Q413 The major market is the potential of VGX 100 in combination with Avastin in solid tumours This requires a partnering deal assumed in 2014 Opthea is developing VGX 300 preclinical which may be used in combination with Lucentis or Eylea in wet AMD Precision is developing a speciality diagnostic business The Imclone partnered IMC 3C5 could produce Phase I data in H213 Ceres Secondary lymphoedema and Avastin combinationCeres Oncology is the cancer company in the new Circadian structure developing VGX 100 a monoclonal antibody against VGF C Preclinical data in combination with Avastin in cancer models are strong and the Phase I dose escalation study has gone well but validation depends on future Phase II studies An orphan indication secondary lymphoedema after breast cancer surgery may start a Phase II trial in Q413 The lymphoedema indication has a fast read out and can be run by Circadian A solid tumour Phase II trial would require a partner expected in 2014 Opthea and Precision Interesting but earlyOpthea is focused on VGX 300 a preclinical VEGF C and D trap fusion protein for wet age related macular degeneration AMD the serious condition of retinal bleeding causing blindness Its market may be similar to that of Eylea Regeneron Bayer which has sales of nearly US 1bn after a year The market including Lucentis Roche grew to 2 6bn in 2012 VGX 300 needs funding or a deal to progress Precision sells niche diagnostics that need validation and FDA approvals before gaining wider sales Valuation Based on a 2014 dealCeres Oncology has cash to run a short Phase II trial in lymphoedema and to start a recurrent glioblastoma multiforme GBM trial However GBM completion and starting a major metastatic colorectal cancer mCRC Phase II trial requires a partner or substantial fund raising The value scenario is a mid 2014 deal on VGX 100 worth US 20m upfront with no dilutive external funding All VGX 100 indications would be included at a high 20 royalty Opthea has been valued on the basis of a 2014 deal at 50 probability with a 25 external investor equity stake This gives a total NPV of A 1 93 share but investors need to be aware of the risk of delays to deals This makes the risk of additional dilution amount price and timing hard to quantify To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

AMD

Circadian Technologies

Circadian s retinal therapy subsidiary Opthea has published a preclinical study into VGX 300 an anti VEGF C trap biological entity based on an engineered antibody structure This excellent data showing equivalence to Eylea may be pivotal in gaining a rapid partnering deal for VGX 300 enabling it to target the booming 2 6bn Lucentis Eylea duopoly in wet age related macular degeneration AMD Trials will be needed to establish if targeting VEGF C can treat the 40 of patients that fail to respond to anti VEGF A therapy VGX 100 dose data in cancer is expected soon Harvard Data Shows VEGF C In Wet AMDOpthea is focused on VGX 300 a preclinical VEGF C and D trap fusion protein for the serious condition of retinal bleeding causing blindness New preclinical data from Harvard funded by Opthea may help Circadian gain a deal as it indicates similar results to Eylea Regeneron Bayer in reducing both blood vessel penetration of the retina and vascular leakage The data also shows that VEGF A and VEGF C are elevated in the serum of wet AMD patients by about 125 and 90 respectively VEGF D levels were low in both Clinical trials due from H214 with funding or a partner will be needed to establish if VGX 300 can halt AMD in the 40 of patients that are found to be refractory to the VEGF A blocking therapies of Lucentis and Eylea VGX 300 s market may be similar to that of Eylea with target sales of nearly US 1 3bn in 2013 The market including Lucentis Roche grew to US 2 6bn in 2012 However VGX 300 needs funding or a deal to progress Cancer Leads With A VGX 100 Deal Possible In 2013Ceres Oncology Circadian s cancer company is developing VGX 100 a monoclonal antibody against VEGF C Phase I dose escalation data is due soon but validation depends on future Phase II studies An orphan indication secondary lymphoedema after breast cancer surgery may start a Phase II trial in Q413 The lymphoedema indication has a fast read out and can be run by Circadian Valuation Deals And FundingOpthea has been valued on the basis of a 2014 deal at 50 probability with a 25 external investor equity stake Ceres Oncology has cash to run a short Phase II trial in lymphoedema but requires a partner or substantial fund raising The value scenario is a mid 2014 deal on VGX 100 with no dilutive external funding This gives a total NPV of A 1 93 share but investors need to be aware that the risk of additional dilution amount price and timing is hard to quantify To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

T

AT T adds HBO to unlimited wireless plan for free

Reuters AT T Inc NYSE T said on Wednesday customers of its unlimited mobile data plan would get Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX s HBO home to hit shows such as Game of Thrones and Veep as part of the service at no additional cost The No 2 U S wireless carrier which is buying Time Warner for 85 4 billion to gain control of channels such as HBO and CNN said the new service would be rolled out from April 6 AT T s Unlimited Plus plan includes unlimited mobile data and a monthly credit for its video services such as DirecTV and DirecTV Now The HBO offer would also allow customers who are already paying for the cable channel through AT T s video services plans to now access premium HBO content for free AT T lowered the price of its unlimited mobile data plan in February by 10 to 90 per month in response to rivals rolling out unlimited data offers driving a price war among the top four U S wireless carriers

T

AT T adds HBO to its unlimited wireless plan

In a deal between increasingly likely corporate relatives AT T NYSE T is offering access to HBO TWX 0 3 to customers of its unlimited mobile plan at no extra cost The Unlimited Plus plan which got a lower cost of 90 month in February now includes unlimited mobile data throttled in speed for heavy users after 22 GB of usage along with a 25 credit for video services such as DirecTV and DirecTV Now HBO will be included as of tomorrow bringing customers access to Game of Thrones Veep Silicon Valley and more

PFE

Athersys A Quick View

Investment Summary Multi tasking Stem CellsAthersys is lining up a number of catalysts over the next 12 months that could transform the investment case for the stem cell specialist The key event in 2013 is headline data in Q3 from a Phase II study of its MultiStem product allogeneic stem cells from adult bone marrow for ulcerative colitis UC conducted by partner Pfizer Further 2013 catalysts include FDA authorisation of a Phase II III trial of MultiStem in graft versus host disease GvHD and partnership s for the preclinical 5HT2c agonist programme in obesity schizophrenia In H114 Phase II data for MultiStem in ischaemic stroke could be a breakthrough event for Athersys Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD PotentialA partner since 2009 for potential IBD applications of MultiStem Pfizer is running a Phase II study in moderate to severe UC Mayo score 6 adverse events endoscopic valuation Baron score and the Mayo rectal bleeding sub score are the primary endpoints Positive data in H213 would provide important validation of the MultiStem approach first ever Phase II data and encourage Pfizer to conduct pivotal studies in UC and or Crohn s disease deal 105m milestones royalties Multiple Shots On GoalAthersys has successfully completed Phase I studies of MultiStem in acute myocardial infarction AMI and GvHD with a design for a Phase II III study in GvHD currently under FDA review The 36 patient Phase I data in GvHD showed a positive impact on GvHD incidence in a high risk patient group and other clinical measures eg relapse free survival and infection rates Meanwhile a Phase II study in ischaemic stroke is ongoing results in H114 adverse events and portion of patients with a modified Rankin Scale mRS score 2 could be transformational Partners Sought For Obesity ProgramThe FDA approval in 2012 of Arena s obesity drug Belviq lorcaserin has renewed partnering optimism for Athersys small molecule 5HT2c agonist programme for obesity and or schizophrenia Highly selective to 5HT2c i e inactive on side effect linked off target 5HT2a b a partnership may be secured in H113 Valuation 57 5m EVWith 25 5m in cash at end 2012 Athersys has an EV of 57 5m We note some of its more advanced stem cell peers Cytori and Pluristem have respective EVs of 155m and 132m Positive Phase II data for MultiStem in UC and ischaemic stroke should help Athersys narrow this valuation gap To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

AMD

8 Tech Stocks With High Short Interest And Bearish Moving Averages

Recent Performance of the Stocks Mentioned Below Average 1 Week Return 0 75 Average 1 Month Return 6 33 Average 1 Year Return 46 64 1 ADTRAN Inc ADTN Designs manufactures markets and services network access solutions that enable voice data video and Internet communications across wireline and wireless networks worldwide Short float at 15 88 SMA50 at 17 51 vs SMA200 at 24 78 2 Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD Operates as a semiconductor company in the United States Japan China and Europe Short float at 21 59 SMA50 at 2 48 vs SMA200 at 5 08 3 Finisar Corp FNSR Designs develops manufactures and markets optical subsystems and components that are used to interconnect equipment in short distance local area networks LANs storage area networks SANs longer distance metropolitan area networks MANs fiber to the home networks cable television networks and wide area networks Short float at 14 42 SMA50 at 12 81 vs SMA200 at 15 05 4 Groupon Inc GRPN Short float at 12 03 SMA50 at 4 29 vs SMA200 at 9 15 5 GT Advanced Technologies Inc GTAT Provides polysilicon production technology and multicrystalline ingot growth systems and related photovoltaic PV manufacturing services for the solar industry worldwide Short float at 31 95 SMA50 at 4 41 vs SMA200 at 5 74 6 InvenSense Inc INVN Short float at 13 65 SMA50 at 11 43 vs SMA200 at 13 11 7 NII Holdings Inc NIHD Provides wireless communication services to businesses and individuals primarily in Mexico Brazil Argentina Peru and Chile Short float at 37 87 SMA50 at 6 77 vs SMA200 at 10 81 8 Windstream Corporation WIN Provides communications and technology solutions in the United States Short float at 12 94 SMA50 at 9 38 vs SMA200 at 9 89 Contextuall s has built a variety of indicators to predict the near term direction of the XLK exchange traded fund For current signals and backtests

AMD

7 Tech Stocks With SMA50 Above SMA200 And High Short Interest

Recent Performance of the Stocks Mentioned Below Average 1 Week Return 1 65 Average 1 Month Return 8 05 Average 1 Year Return 50 69 1 ADTRAN Inc ADTN Designs manufactures markets and services network access solutions that enable voice data video and Internet communications across wireline and wireless networks worldwide Short float at 15 88 SMA50 at 17 49 vs SMA200 at 24 69 2 Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD Operates as a semiconductor company in the United States Japan China and Europe Short float at 21 59 SMA50 at 2 45 vs SMA200 at 5 06 3 Groupon Inc GRPN Short float at 12 03 SMA50 at 4 26 vs SMA200 at 9 07 4 GT Advanced Technologies Inc GTAT Provides polysilicon production technology and multicrystalline ingot growth systems and related photovoltaic PV manufacturing services for the solar industry worldwide Short float at 31 95 SMA50 at 4 34 vs SMA200 at 5 7 5 InvenSense Inc INVN Short float at 13 65 SMA50 at 11 36 vs SMA200 at 13 08 6 NII Holdings Inc NIHD Provides wireless communication services to businesses and individuals primarily in Mexico Brazil Argentina Peru and Chile Short float at 37 87 SMA50 at 6 7 vs SMA200 at 10 72 7 Windstream Corporation WIN Provides communications and technology solutions in the United States Short float at 12 94 SMA50 at 9 34 vs SMA200 at 9 87 To view Contextuall s current predictions for the XLK exchange traded fund

PFE

Strong Performance From US Stocks All Eyes on The Fed

US stocks continue strong performance despite weak US consumer confidence Asian stocks rise on strong Korean production and positive sentiment All eyes on the Fed today We expect a continued soft tone in the statement Markets Overnight Risk appetite continued to be strong yesterday despite weak data on US consumer confidence and technically overbought markets The Dow Jones Index reached a new 5 year high and is now up 6 5 so far this year Equity markets continue to be underpinned by earnings reports as around 70 of companies reported so far have beaten expectations Yesterday Pfizer led blue chip stocks higher after reporting Q4 earnings that beat estimates Shares are technically overbought on short term measures but so far better earnings and a strong investor flow into equities have supported the strong performance A weak report on US consumer confidence was not able to ruin the positive market sentiment Confidence among US consumers fell more than expected in January from 66 7 to 58 6 most likely related to the increase in the payrolls tax on 1 January In Asian markets the positive sentiment was underpinned by strong data on Korean industrial production adding to the picture of a decent recovery in Asia Industrial production rose 1 0 m m in December consensus 1 5 m m and has increased at the fastest pace over a three month period since February 2011 All eyes now turn to the Fed meeting tonight where markets look for a continued soft statement from FOMC We do not expect any big changes in the statement as the Fed is likely to stick to the easing bias given the mixed data at the beginning of the new year see FOMC Preview Too early for the Fed to change bias January 28 The US economic surprise index has fallen from fairly high levels to below zero over the past month showing that on balance key figures have been weaker than expected lately The rise in risk appetite pushed the 10 year yield in the US higher overnight above 2 whereas 2 year yields have been broadly stable in anticipation of a continued soft statement from the Fed today In the FX markets EUR USD climbed higher again yesterday but has stayed unchanged overnight just below 1 35 USD JPY is up in Asian trading to just below 91 EUR SEK fell below 8 60 in late afternoon and has stayed there overnight To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

PFE

Cytos Biotechnology Musical Chairs

Musical chairsNovartis NVS has returned NIC002 a smoking cessation vaccine to Cytos Biotechnology CYTN but Pfizer PFE has started a Phase I study with VLP IgE The investment case is barely altered by these changes and still largely hinges solely on how its main asset CYT003 progresses through a key Phase IIb trial in allergic asthma The study is due to report early data in H114 with full results by end 2014 A positive outcome should mean that debt due for repayment in February 2015 will be converted or repaid without difficulty and that Cytos will have sufficient time to out license CYT003 Novartis returns rights for NIC002 Novartis has terminated development of NIC002 a therapeutic vaccine candidate for the treatment of nicotine addiction This follows from a disappointing Phase II study submitted in October 2009 which failed to meet the primary endpoint of increased smoking cessation The other Novartis collaboration involves CAD106 for Alzheimer s disease and is in Phase II development but Pfizer moves IgE programme into Phase IPfizer has started a Phase I trial with the anti IgE vaccine with two different adjuvants in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis The vaccine is based on Cytos s virus like particle VLP platform The 189 patient trial is expected to be completed by the end of 2014 Novartis and Roche sell the anti IgE antibody omalizumab Xolair for the treatment of allergic asthma Key CYT003 trial to report early data in H114The investment case for Cytos Biotechnology is still largely dependent on how its main asset CYT003 progresses through a critical Phase IIb trial in allergic asthma Full data from this study is expected by end 2014 if the trial is positive we believe that current financing structures should mean that debt will be converted or repaid without difficulty and that Cytos will have sufficient time to out license Valuation Upside dependent on CYTOO3 trial successOur valuation falls by CHF4m to CHF94m or CHF4 19 per share following the removal of NIC002 and addition of VLP IgE on our model If CYT003 currently worth CHF75m is successful in the key Phase IIb trial the value per share would rise to between CHF5 31 and CHF5 92 per share at FY14 assuming that the conversion of loan notes and exercising of outstanding warrants occurs as expected To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

PFE

Oxford BioMedica Financed Through To Early 2014

Look no further Oxford BioMedica s OXB L investment case is geared to the striking of worthwhile commercial partnerships for its late stage clinical assets The next key inflection point is whether Sanofi decides to opt in for the further development of RetinoStat a gene based treatment for wet AMD age related macular degeneration A positive outcome would help validate the LentiVector platform and could kick start additional collaborations We currently value the company at 58 5m down from 62 5m RetinoStat opt in by Sanofi is keenly awaitedOxford BioMedica is essentially a bet on the merits of gene therapy in general and the LentiVector delivery platform in particular The approach is promising particularly in ophthalmology indications where a single administration could safely provide a sustained or even permanent effect Having opted in for two smaller ocular projects Sanofi s decision on RetinoStat could be the defining moment for Oxford BioMedica Collaborations have been slowOxford BioMedica has endured a difficult period especially as collaboration discussions failed to conclude yet gene based medicines offer the prospect of dramatically altering the outcomes of a number of devastating diseases The recent November 2012 European approval of UniQure s Glybera marks a pivotal point for gene therapy effectively mapping a regulatory pathway Meanwhile Oxford BioMedica has successfully de risked several critical aspects of the process especially production Currently financed through to early 2014Net cash was reported as 14 1m at the end 2012 which with forecast FY13 R D net spend of 11 3m and underlying G A expenditure of 3 3m suggests the current cash runway extends through to early 2014 Were Sanofi to opt in to RetinoStat a decision is expected before Q114 we estimate a 20m milestone payment would be triggered so extending the runway to around mid 2015 Further income could arise from manufacturing revenues and other partnering milestones eg around 1 2m from Pfizer for the clinical start for the anti 5T4 antibody project Valuation Pipeline alone supports a 58 5m valueClearly much depends of the successful development of the ocular programmes in collaboration with Sanofi Our valuation of 58 5m down from our previous 62 5m is based on an rNPV model of the late stage pipeline alone We have conservatively chosen not to include the value of other less visible but arguably just as important assets such as the manufacturing facility and intellectual property estate To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

AMD

Deceased Rubber Felines

Some of the most amazing gainers during this recent counter trend rally have been steaming piles of dog poo that until recently no one wanted to be near Witness Groupon GRPN which has pushed over 50 higher recently having put its earliest IPO shareholders through a 90 drop And then long suffering Research In Motion RIMM remember them which has offered up a nearly doubling in price I m not showing it here but Nokia NOK another fallen phone maker has also been zooming There are certainly ample helpings of trashed stocks these days if you re the contrarian buyer sort JC Penney JCP and shown below Advanced Micro Devices AMD

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AT T s 85 4 billion deal for Time Warner wins EU thumbs up

By Anjali Athavaley Reuters AT T Inc NYSE T has won approval from the European Commission for its planned 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX the No 2 U S wireless carrier said on Wednesday The merger was widely expected to be cleared in Europe but still requires approval from the U S Department of Justice The deal is expected to close by the end of the year AT T said During his election campaign U S President Donald Trump had said that he opposed the merger and in January a transition official told Reuters that Trump was still against the deal The U S Federal Communications Commission does not expect to review the deal a spokesman for the agency said last month The Justice Department which is reviewing documents submitted on the proposed merger has to prove a proposed deal harms competition in order to block it I think what everybody is waiting for is to see whoever will become head of the anti trust division of the Department of Justice said Roger Entner an analyst at Recon Analytics AT T shares rose 0 3 percent to 42 21 in morning trading

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About 17 000 AT T workers in California and Nevada go on strike

By Anjali Athavaley Reuters About 17 000 AT T Inc NYSE T workers in California and Nevada went on strike on Wednesday alleging that the company violated contract terms by forcing employees to do work outside their areas of expertise The employees who work in the company s phone landline and cable services businesses have been working without a contract for almost a year Last year the workers who are represented by the Communications Workers of America voted to authorize a strike AT T had 268 000 employees as of Jan 31 according to a filing The company said it was prepared to continue serving customers A walkout is not in anybody s best interest and it s unfortunate that the union chose to do that AT T said in a statement We re engaged in discussion with the union to get these employees back to work as soon as possible

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Striking AT T workers in California Nevada return to work

Reuters AT T Inc N T said 17 000 workers in California and Nevada resumed work on Thursday after going on a strike on Wednesday The workers had alleged that the company violated contract terms by forcing employees to do work outside their areas of expertise

PFE

Halozyme s Newfound Credibility Pfizer

For the most part 2012 was not a very good year for Halozyme Therapeutics HALO Investors eagerly anticipating FDA approval of Baxter s BAX immune globulin infusion HyQ were met with a press release on April 16 which announced that the FDA wanted more information on HyQ which drew immediate concern for the status of the biologic s BLA Bumps In The RoadHALO and BAX shareholders worst fears were confirmed on August 1 when we learned that the FDA issued a complete response letter saying there was not enough pre clinical data to support the BLA Other specific issues were brought up like the generation of antibodies through usage of HyQ that could potentially have adverse effects on patients in terms of reproduction development and fertility Halozyme doesn t seem to believe that the antibody in question anti rHuPH20 is associated with adverse events even in large amounts That is a fairly important stance to take since Halozyme s entire Enhanze biologics platform is based on the patented rHuPH20 enzyme Due to the failure of HyQ s BLA last year HALO lost about half its value by mid December 2012 BAX being a much larger company with less dependency on the potential revenues of HyQ shrugged off the damage Things could have gotten worse for Halozyme had they not announced a partnership with Pfizer PFE on December 21 which sent the stock soaring about 25 higher The Pfizer EffectWhile the market is still quite skeptical about Halozyme s Enhanze platform due to the FDA s concern with the safety of rHuPH20 a good number of people changed their mind after the announced collaboration with Pfizer Not only did this give Halozyme new opportunity in the future but it also suggested that Pfizer s own research indicated that there was nothing wrong with rHuPH20 or the Enhanze platform at all Another great aspect of the arrangement is that EPS negative Halozyme will receive milestone payments from Pfizer Considering that the company has just 100 million of cash with an expected cash burn rate of 45 50 million in 2013 it s clear that the company would have had to hold a public offering or secured a private line of financing to sustain operations after 2014 Pfizer s milestone payments could turn out to be extremely useful as Halozyme as it sustains three of its own drug development programs It s hard to say how high HALO can move on the Pfizer deal alone HALO isn t exactly cheap with a market capitalization of 780 million and a lack of a steady revenue stream although the Pfizer deal could yield as much as 518 million in milestone payments This is encouraging for investors who are interested in waiting for the full development of the aforementioned drugs that Halozyme is developing Analog Insulin PH20 for diabetes PEGPH20 for cancer and the dermatology treatment HTI 501 are all in phase II trials and could generate substantial interest in Halozyme with their own prospects in the market It s true that Halozyme s pipeline is also tied to rHuPH20 the diabetes drug uses it directly which is why there is still major concern over the FDA s complete response letter in 2012 but Halozyme should be able to address all the issues well before another BLA is submitted ConclusionI think HALO is undergoing a recovery rally due to the hype about the collaboration with Pfizer and could see 8 share or more as we head into a new year Those who are interested in HALO for the long haul should carefully watch developments surrounding the safety profile of rHuPH20 which could make or break Halozyme s own pipeline The market seems to think that rHuPH20 is fine since the FDA s complete response letter seemed a bit too cautious Also note that Pfizer s research indicated that Enhanze was a safe enough biologics development platform to partner with HALO investors should also keep tabs on the company s financials which are stable for the time being but could become an issue if Pfizer s milestone payments don t bring in as much income for Halozyme as we are expecting

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FCC probes why AT T customers could not call 911

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The U S Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday it will investigate why AT T NYSE T wireless subscribers in several states could not make emergency 911 calls late Wednesday The FCC has previously fined carriers that had 911 outages that it deemed preventable and required steps to prevent further outages A person briefed on the matter said a software glitch apparently caused the outage which lasted a few hours and spanned at least 10 states Every call to 911 must go through FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement I have directed commission staff to track down the root cause of this outage Pai said he spoke to AT T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson about the matter AT T takes its 911 obligations very seriously said spokesman Mike Balmoris We are taking steps to prevent this from happening again and will be sharing additional information with the FCC Balmoris said The National Emergency Number Association a nonprofit group said problem shows the need to upgrade technology at 911 centers so calls can be redirected to other regions Several carriers agreed to settlements after an April 2014 outage affected 11 million telephone users Verizon Communications Inc agreed to a 3 4 million fine after a six hour 911 outage in April 2014 that affected about 750 000 wireless consumers in nine California counties CenturyLink Inc agreed to a 16 million settlement in the April 2014 outage and Intrado Communications a unit of West Corp agreed to pay a 1 4 million fine The FCC said the outages at the carriers in April 2014 resulted in 6 600 missed 911 calls about domestic violence assault motor vehicle accidents a heart attack an overdose and an intruder breaking into a residence The April 2014 outage was the result of a preventable software coding error at a call management center in Colorado the FCC said In 2015 T Mobile US Inc agreed to a 17 5 million settlement after two 911 service outages nationwide in August 2014 The separate but related outages lasted approximately three hours and affected almost all of T Mobile s then 50 million customers

PFE

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Progress With Phase III Plans

ANX 188 Poised For Pivotal RoleAdventrx is on the verge of initiating its all important pivotal Phase III study of ANX 188 a product that has the potential to become the standard of care to treat severely painful crisis episodes in patients with sickle cell disease The key requirements are now in place manufacturing and CRO contracts have been secured and assuming the FDA has no objections to the trial design the study should start by end 2012 Advancing ANX 188 into Phase III and clarity on the study design represents a significant milestone and potential catalyst that could lead to a re rating Pieces In PlaceAdventrx has secured manufacturing agreements with Pierre Fabre to produce the active ingredient in ANX 188 purified poloxamer 188 and Patheon to formulate fill and finish the product for use in the pivotal study Adventrx has also engaged Theradex Systems a contract research organisation CRO with experience of conducting studies in patients with sickle cell disease to manage the pivotal trial Burgeoning Interest In SCDIn the 12 months since Pfizer licensed GlycoMimetics Phase II sickle cell candidate for up to 340m we note that 163m has been invested in companies public and private developing novel therapies for sickle cell disease This points to growing interest and investment in the field highlighted by Novartis obtaining an option to acquire Selexys Pharmaceuticals for up to 665m We recently participated in the first Annual Sickle Cell Disease Therapeutics Conference where presentations from leading experts and companies to over 100 attendees investors physicians analysts patients highlighted the extent of the unmet medical need and market opportunity Expanding The ANX 188 FranchiseTo broaden the potential of ANX 188 Adventrx has guided to announcing plans by year end to develop the product for an additional indication a Phase II study could begin in H113 This represents another potential catalyst and we note previously reported encouraging pre clinical data for ANX 188 in haemorrhagic shock Valuation 80m With Near Term Re Rating PotentialWe maintain our value of Adventrx at 80m or 1 46 per share based on a sum of the parts DCF valuation However the start of the Phase III study for ANX 188 could boost our valuation in excess of 2 50 dependant on trial design specifics Estimated Q312 cash of 39m is sufficient for 18 months to cover the launch of ANX 188 trials To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

PFE

Benitec Biopharma QuickView

Investment Summary Deal Focused On HCVBenitec s acquisition of its US based technology licensee Tacere Therapeutics allows the Australian RNAi specialist to bring in house a Phase I ready drug candidate for Hepatitis C virus HCV infection The transaction of 102m shares plus a potential cash royalty based on future licensing revenue values Tacere at US 1 5m hence it would appear to be a very attractive price TT 034 To Enter Phase I II trials In Mid 2013Tacere s principal asset is TT 034 a Phase I ready RNAi therapeutic for HCV infection This as PF 05095808 was previously the subject of a collaboration with Pfizer which was discontinued in 2011 following a strategic review Benitec plans to submit an IND in 2013 pending a meeting with the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee although in our view it would need new funding or a partner to conduct any studies Lower Admin Frequency Could Be Key Differentiation vs All OralsTT 034 contains three separate RNAi elements targeted against conserved regions of HCV which are encapsidated in an adeno associated virus protein coat Preclinical studies in non human primates showed high penetration of hepatocytes following a single IV administration This offers a potential dose frequency advantage versus putative all oral anti HCV approaches which are currently under development and all expected to be given over 24 weeks or more Cancer Pain Is The Candidate Next In LineBenitec s development pipeline albeit wholly preclinical is well diversified Its programme in cancer pain is next in line to enter the clinic in late 2013 Tacere also adds an advanced preclinical programme for macular degeneration Valuation EV of A 12 5mBenitec has cash of A 3m suggesting its EV is c A 12 5m Given the current heightened investor interest in the HCV space this could offer an attractive entry point for a company with a relatively near term value inflection point in the form of proof of concept Phase II data for TT 034 To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

PFE

Mid Morning Trading On The FTSE Slips Lower

In mid morning trading the FTSE has slipped lower down around 30 points as a result of economic worries and lacklustre corporate earnings Third quarter earnings have not provided the real boost that some might have looked for and markets have found it difficult to make real headway as a result In some ways the summer lull has never really gone away with even the eurozone crisis failing to provide much in the way of excitement At least there is some merger activity this morning as publishers Pearson and Bertelsmann announce that they will combine their two publishing divisions although sadly those hoping that the combined entity would be called Random Penguin have been disappointed After starting higher this morning Pearson shares have slipped lower now down around 0 8 The impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy has meant that exchanges in New York will be closed today and possibly tomorrow as well As a result markets are much quieter as US traders stay away from their desks There will be a degree of disruption to earnings season as well as some firms including pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer delay their earnings until later in the week

PFE

Navidea Unjustly Damaged By Misleading Article

On December 19th 2012 The GeoTeam on Navidea Biopharmaceuticals NAVB that contained a number of misleading statements and outright inaccuracies that prompted this reactionary piece Most of the truly egregious statements are listed and addressed below Note Each statement is taken directly out of The GeoTeam s Statement 1 Platinum Montaur Life Sciences LLC a firm that provided a credit facility to Navidea may be losing faith in the company The group has sold approximately 3 8 million shares or approximately 50 of its public equity ownership stake in NAVB since September 4 2012 Platinum Montaur Life Sciences a firm that provided a credit facility to Navidea is not losing faith in the company at all The GeoTeam really can t seem to get the facts straight Montaur Navidea s largest shareholder and supporter of the company did NOT sell 3 million shares Instead Montaur converted 3 million of its preferred shares into common shares in order to exercise warrants creating a net long position for the fund With respect to NAV5001 and Alseres Pharmaceuticals ALSE PK the only thing we know for sure is that the shares have been registered for resale not that they have been sold A 300 000 share position is not material for reporting for SEC purposes Alseres is no longer a diagnostic company If they were to sell shares it would be to satisfy their capital needs and not as a vote of no confidence in the Parkinson s diagnostic agent they licensed to Navidea In fact the Alseres agreement is largely back end loaded signaling that Alseres has a confident outlook for this product with contingent milestone payments to Alseres of up to 2 900 000 and the issuance of up to an additional 1 150 000 shares of the Company s common stock In addition the terms of the Sublicense Agreement anticipate royalties on annual net sales of products based on the agent Alseres would not have accepted a back end loaded structure where they get paid upon success of the product if they didn t believe in the agent or Navidea Statement 1 Platinum Montaur Life Sciences LLC a firm that provided a credit facility to Navidea may be losing faith in the company The group has sold approximately 3 8 million shares or approximately 50 of its public equity ownership stake in NAVB since September 4 2012 Platinum Montaur Life Sciences a firm that provided a credit facility to Navidea is not losing faith in the company at all The GeoTeam really can t seem to get the facts straight Montaur Navidea s largest shareholder and supporter of the company did NOT sell 3 million shares Instead Montaur converted 3 million of its preferred shares into common shares in order to exercise warrants creating a net long position for the fund With respect to NAV5001 and Alseres Pharmaceuticals ALSE PK the only thing we know for sure is that the shares have been registered for resale not that they have been sold A 300 000 share position is not material for reporting for SEC purposes Alseres is no longer a diagnostic company If they were to sell shares it would be to satisfy their capital needs and not as a vote of no confidence in the Parkinson s diagnostic agent they licensed to Navidea In fact the Alseres agreement is largely back end loaded signaling that Alseres has a confident outlook for this product with contingent milestone payments to Alseres of up to 2 900 000 and the issuance of up to an additional 1 150 000 shares of the Company s common stock In addition the terms of the Sublicense Agreement anticipate royalties on annual net sales of products based on the agent Alseres would not have accepted a back end loaded structure where they get paid upon success of the product if they didn t believe in the agent or Navidea Statement 2 Lymphoseek has now been in the approval process for 10 years with at least another year before the possibility of approval This is a completely inaccurate statement given that Lymposeek has an PDUFA action date of April 30th 2013 for their flagship diagnostic compound Lymphoseek It s also worth noting that the product could be approved before that date as well Statement 3 Navidea has had chemistry manufacturing and controls CMC issues with its main product Lymphoseek since 2006 and is still having CMC issues today I am perplexed as to where they got that information The CMC issues became known when the company received a CRL complete response letter in September 2012 which pinpointed an issue that has now been resolved Statement 4 Navidea has 16 million in cash and while it has a 50 million revolver it can currently only draw down 15 million of that revolver for its cash needs On December 11 2012 the company drew 2 million from this facility It needs approval of Lymphoseek in order to get any more than the initial 15 million This means NAVB could run out of cash within 18 months if not sooner if it is unable to secure additional financing or if it is not granted FDA approval for Lymphoseek Navidea s liquidity issues are actually less significant than what is implied above The company is currently eligible to draw 15 million from Montaur prior to approval and 20 million after approval Statement 5 Management s track record over the past 16 years with other drugs has thus far been very unimpressive All three of NAVB s drugs have not gained FDA approval calling into question management s ability to get drugs approved The GeoTeam criticized the management team s track record over the last 16 years while it is widely known that many have joined the company within the last two years We ve recently seen Navidea complete clinical studies for Lymphoseek followed with an NDA and MAA submission for the FDA and EMA European Medicines Agency respectively It s difficult to understand The GeoTeam s argument here because the new management team is quite competent Statement 6 Lymphoseek approval from the FDA for both breast cancer and melanoma for a total of 300 000 cases in the United States This statement was regarding the NEO3 06 phase III trial which could expand the label for Lymphoseek to the sentinel lymph node biopsy claim which actually brings its target population to 1 3 million in the United States alone This is over four times what The GeoTeam cited in their analysis Statement 7 NAVB has expressed its intent to pursue the approval of treatments for melanoma and breast cancer in Europe We feel this is highly unlikely to occur This statement is completely wrong Navidea filed their MAA with the EMA on December 18th and fully intends to pursue the European market for lymphatic mapping It s also worth noting that The GeoTeam claimed that this was a market of about 300 to 400 thousand patients while it s closer to 2 5 million in reality Statement 8 Navidea has two products other than Lymphoseek that we believe will not have any positive impact on the company s operations AZD4694 a phase 2 product for which comparables from other companies have failed to be approved and Rigscan which has been in phase 3 since 1998 Not only is AZD4694 a phase III drug but it is very dissimilar from the compounds that The GeoTeam wants to compare it to specifically Lilly s solanezumab and Pfizer s bapineuzumab Conclusion The large number of mistakes and misleading statements that were made to build the bearish case on Navidea Pharmaceuticals in The GeoTeam s article should be enough to discredit them as a source of reliable information for NAVB The slam piece actually made a dent in the stock after its release which leads me to believe that there may have been an agenda associated with their publication Hopefully this article has established some clarity on Navidea s actual prospects Investors who have a stake in NAVB should be watching for the PDUFA action date of April 30 2013

PFE

Upcoming FDA Decision for AVEO s Tivozanib Builds Speculation

We ve seen a lot of choppy trading in shares of in the oncology drug developer AVEO Pharmaceuticals AVEO which has been struggling ever since August 2nd when it released some data from a phase III trial called TIVO 1 that compared their flagship drug tivozanib with Onyx Pharmaceuticals ONXX Nexavar sorafenib in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma RCC In terms of raw survival after one year it was seen that 77 of the patients treated with tivozanib survived while 81 of sorafenib treated patients survived RCC As a result AVEO dropped sharply from 13 30 share to 9 75 share on August 2nd and has remained troubled ever since The question now is whether or not these preliminary phase III results actually mean that tivozanib is inferior to sorafenib and whether this will result in a complete response letter to the NDA that AVEO recently submitted The company thinks that the 1 year survival data could be misleading due to their claim that a large number of the patients who were assigned Onyx s sorafenib just over half of them were moved onto other therapies tivozanib when their condition worsened while only 17 of tivozanib patients were given other treatments This presents a problem when you try to evaluate the relative overall survival between both arms since it s very possible that the sorafenib arm benefitted from tivozanib s efficacy as a second line treatment for RCC It s also worth noting that the study s primary endpoint progression free survival PFS showed statistically significant improvements in the tivozanib arm versus the sorafenib arm The median PFS measurements were 11 9 months and 9 1 months for AVEO and Onyx s drug respectively The bulk of the patient population 70 were na ve for advanced RCC and responded even better to tivozanib with media PFS of 12 7 months versus 9 1 months So while the FDA has expressed concern about the implications of the weak overall survival OS data for tivozanib versus sorafenib the progression free survival argument is still quite intact It is also very well tolerated amongst patients which significantly reduces its risk and increases its chances of approval Judging by the movements in shares of AVEO in the last few months I think the market might be a little too pessimistic about tivozanib s approval chances The market that is being targeted by tivozanib is quite large at over 2 4 billion Onyx s sorafenib was FDA approved for RCC in 2005 and is marketed by Bayer BAYRY under the name Nexavar and brought the company 199 million in Q3 2011 although it s worth mentioning that Bayer Onyx have expanded its indication to other types of cancer since 2005 Sutent one of Pfizer s PFE most profitable drugs also treats RCC and brought the company 294 million in Q3 2012 AVEO also saw some major insider buying this month The first significant purchase was made by one of AVEO s directors Raju Kucherlapati who bought 15 000 shares equating to 101 thousand throughout the first week of the month A much bigger buy was made by president and CEO Tuan Ha Ngoc throughout the following week He accumulated 75 000 shares which cost 499 thousand This implies that there is substantial confidence in the success of tivozanib going forward It s worth mentioning that AVEO intends to expand the tivozanib indication to other types of cancer including colorectal and breast cancer following in the footsteps of their competitor sorafenib The company also has two other compounds in its pipeline that could prove very interesting including ficlatuzumab for non small cell lung cancer NSCLC and AV 203 for solid tumors These two other compounds are in phase II and phase I trials respectively Still I don t think the market will pay any attention to these drugs while the speculation over tivozanib s NDA submission builds The PDUFA action date for tivozanib s NDA is July 28 2013 There will probably be an advisory committee that will vote on the drug s chances of approval prior to the actual decision date but AVEO shareholders have little to do but wait for more developments at this point

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GameStop Rises On Q3 Earnings

Shares of GameStop Corp NYSE GME jumped by almost 10 during the after hours trading and as much as 15 during the trading session on Tuesday following a third quarter earnings report from the company that beat most earnings estimates Third Quarter Earnings The Texas based company posted third quarter earnings of 0 54 per share beating most Wall Street expectations that the company would post earnings of 0 44 per share GameStop posted net earnings of 59 4 million for the third quarter or 0 59 per diluted share which is considerably higher than their net earnings of 50 8 million or 0 49 per share during the same quarter last year Revenue of the video game and electronics retailer was 1 5 higher year over year to 1 99 billion GameStop interim chief executive officer Dan DeMatteo stated that the third quarter earnings growth of the company was due to the strong and growing demand for the Nintendo Switch and collectibles according to the earnings release of the company GameStop posted a sales growth of 1 9 globally with the sales from their new hardware growing by 8 8 due to the demand for the Nintendo Switch Sales of the company from their software products also rose by 5 4 while sales from pre owned products sold was down by 2 4 Global omnichannel sales of the company also driven by the rise in sales of new hardware jumped by 38 6 However GameStop posted a decrease in the sales of its technology brands by 10 2 to 194 2 million due to the much later release of Apple s iPhone X as well as the change in the dealer compensation structure of AT T NYSE T which was previously disclosed GameStop also posted a decline of 23 4 in their operating earnings to 18 million while their operating earnings for their technology brands stood at 11 2 million representing a decline of 52 3 compared to their adjusted operating earnings of 23 5 million during the same quarter last year Shares of GameStop last traded up at around 17 29 per share during the after hours trading following the release of the company s earnings report for the third quarter However GameStop shares have lost around 30 56 this year GameStop provided a full year earnings expectation of around 3 10 to 3 40 per share which is higher than most Wall Street expectations of 3 31 per share The demand for products such as the Nintendo Switch especially during the holiday quarter is expected to drive sales of the company during the fourth quarter

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No AT T Time Warner merger review expected U S regulator s chairman

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The head of the U S Federal Communications Commission does not expect to review AT T Inc s N T planned 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc N TWX a spokesman for the agency said on Monday FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had told the Wall Street Journal in an interview on Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that he did not foresee a role for the FCC on the takeover and his comments were confirmed to Reuters by FCC spokesman Neil Grace Last Thursday Time Warner said it plans to sell a broadcast station in Atlanta to Meredith Corp for 70 million which could help speed the company s planned merger with AT T Pai declined to say on Thursday if he would use that transfer to try to review the broader merger In January AT T said it expected to be able to bypass the FCC because it would not seek to transfer any Time Warner licenses About a dozen U S senators have urged him to review the deal The station that Time Warner is selling WPCH TV in Atlanta is its only FCC regulated broadcast station It has other more minor FCC licenses Meredith has operated WPCH TV for Time Warner since 2011 It was previously know as WTBS Time Warner said last month it expected it would only need the consent of the U S Department of Justice The Justice Department which is reviewing documents submitted on the proposed merger has to prove a proposed deal harms competition in order to block it The FCC has broad leeway to block a merger it deems is not in the public interest and can impose additional conditions AT T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson told CNBC earlier this month the Justice Department review was ongoing and he thought the deal would close by the end of the year It s a clean transaction he said People briefed on the matter do not expect the Justice Department to act on the merger until an assistant attorney general overseeing the anti trust division is named and confirmed by the U S Senate AT T which repeatedly clashed with the FCC under President Barack Obama over major industry regulations said last year one benefit to its buying Time Warner is that the programing company is lightly regulated compared to much of AT T s existing operations

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Cytos Biotechnology QuickView

Investment summary Restructuring and refinancing completedCytos has been transformed having faced a funding crunch It now has cash of 37m sufficient to fund a large Phase IIb trial on CYT003 in asthma and has until February 2015 to repay outstanding convertible bonds previously due February 2012 Phase IIa results on CYT003 are due to be published in a peer review journal later this year We will initiate full coverage on Cytos shortly Focus on CYT003Results from a 60 patient Phase IIa trial on CYT003 in asthma showed a significant improvement in symptoms already at two weeks plus longer term improvement in lung function and asthma control A 360 patient Phase IIb global placebo controlled is planned for Q412 with results due Q214 funded by the recent capital raising Strengthened balance sheetCytos was restructured and refinanced between August 2011 and May 2012 reducing workforce from 80 to 15 and closing R D and production The company has raised CHF23 75m in equity CHF13 5m in convertible loan notes half due on milestones being reached the in the phase IIb trial and CHF3 2m via a rights issue Issued warrants could also yield CHF28 5m within four years if exercised Confidence from investorsKey stakeholders now include Amgen venBio Abingworth Bioventures and Aisling Capital In addition Cytos has two compounds partnered with Novartis in smoking cessation and Alzheimer s disease plus one in allergic disease with Pfizer Valuation Minimal technology valueGiven the crisis over funding in the past year the market is assigning little value CHF23m to Cytos s technology Phase IIa results on CYT003 in asthma have been enough to encourage an impressive array of financial investors plus Amgen Publication of CYT003 data and further positive trial results should focus investors attention back on to the science within Cytos and away from the financing troubles To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

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Exonhit Update changing Alzheimer s Disease Landscape

Prodromal attackThe recent failure of two high profile late stage clinical candidates for Alzheimer s disease AD has highlighted the need to target future therapeutic interventions earlier in the course of this disease This strengthens the case for using diagnostic tools such as Exonhit s ALEHT PA AclarusDx both in trials and if the products are ultimately successful in clinical practice Exonhit s investment case is largely based on the commercial potential of AclarusDx its blood based aid for the diagnosis of AD although it also has an interest in the Phase II trial stage neuropathic pain programme EHT AGN 0001 which is partnered with Allergan and Bristol Myers Squibb AclarusDx is competitive in a changing AD landscapePfizer J J s bapineuzumab and Lilly s solanezumab both recently failed to meet their primary endpoints in multiple large Phase III trials in mild to moderate AD However exploratory analyses of the data suggested that these anti amyloid products may be effective if given earlier in the prodromal phase Future AD studies are therefore more likely to use biomarkers to identify potential responder groups a trend that we believe should considerably enhance AclarusDx s commercial potential Enrolment completed in AD studiesPatient enrolment was completed ahead of schedule in July for both the French and US observational studies of AclarusDx The French real life observational study DIALOG Diagnosis ALzheimer cOGnitive evaluates AclarusDx s performance in 600 cognitively impaired patients attending a memory centre for the first time Patients will be followed up for one year and results are expected in Q413 A US pilot clinical study evaluates AclarusDx s performance in 160 patients newly referred to a Reference Memory Centre for an AD diagnostic assessment Results are expected in H113 Financials funded to H113Exonhit ended the half year with cash of 11 2m which should provide a sufficient runway to conduct the AclarusDx clinical studies and target French neurologists Valuation Risk adjusted NPV of 88mWe value Exonhit based on a risk adjusted NPV at 88m based on assumptions of its four main products probability of success launch date pricing and market penetration Exonhit currently has an EV of 27m based on its market cap of 38m and cash of 11 2m To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

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Vectura Inhaler Now Approved In Europe And Japan

Seebri approved in key marketsNovartis Vectura s COPD inhaler Seebri is now approved in two key respiratory markets Europe Japan and is expected to launch by end 2012 This triggers milestones of 12 5m and a new royalty stream from Novartis Clever market positioning should support Seebri uptake in the face of incumbent Spiriva and paves the way for potential approval of the QVA149 combination in late 2013 Seebri to launch in EU and Japan by end 2012Following European and Japanese approvals for Seebri formerly NVA237 for COPD Novartis is on track to launch in two key respiratory markets by year end 2012 Seebri now becomes the second once daily LAMA to market behind Boehringer Pfizer s Spiriva The approvals validate Seebri s once daily profile trigger milestones of 12 5m to Vectura VEC L and should generate first royalties mid single digit in FY13 The first meaningful indication of Seebri sales is likely to be Novartis s Q113 results in April Promotion via established sales forceNovartis will promote Seebri via the same respiratory sales force that sells the LABA inhaler Onbrez with initial launches likely in the UK and Germany then other territories once pricing reimbursement discussions are completed Given Seebri s strong clinical data package and competitive profile vs Spiriva we expect these discussions to be relatively straightforward We project ex US Seebri peak sales of c 230m Clever positioning should support uptakeHead to head studies showed that Seebri is a credible competitor to Spiriva We expect Novartis to leverage Seebri s differentiating features faster onset better sideeffect profile to promote market uptake vs the incumbent Results of ongoing studies of Seebri in combination with Advair in moderate severe COPD could provide even further differentiation Finally we see Seebri being positioned for use alongside Onbrez with physicians becoming comfortable with prescribing the combination ahead of QVA149 approval With all the components of QVA149 now approved in Europe and Japan this de risks potential approval of the combination in H213 Valuation Risk adjusted NPV of 416m 125p share We maintain our 416m Vectura valuation but expect to increase this after Europe and Japan launch timings for Seebri are clarified and on EU filing of QVA149 expected by the year end Upside could come from regulatory and clinical progress more regulatory clarity or further technology licences To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

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Time Warner Q4 earnings beat estimates EPS 1 25

Investing com NYSE Time Warner fourth quarter earnings beat expectations The U S firm reported an 18 rise in Q4 adjusted EPS of 1 25 on revenues of 7 9 bn up 11 The company was estimated to report EPS of 1 19 on revenues of 7 7 bn Full year EPS was up 23 at 5 86 on a 4 rise in revenues to 29 3 bn Time Warner is in the process of merging with NYSE AT T

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Harry Potter spinoff helps Time Warner top estimates

By Jessica Toonkel and Rishika Sadam Reuters Time Warner Inc N TWX reported higher than expected fourth quarter results largely due to box office hits such as the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them The New York based media company which is set to become part of AT T Inc N T in an 85 4 billion deal reported an 11 5 percent rise in quarterly revenue and said the merger remained on track to close later this year U S President Donald Trump opposed AT T s bid for Time Warner during his election campaign AT T which has also said it expects the deal to be approved is looking to boost its media offerings such as over the top services that are independent of any cable TV subscription such as DirecTV Now Time Warner topped Wall Street s estimates as the company which owns film studio Warner Bros as well as the CNN and HBO television channels confronts the challenges of more viewers going online to watch their favorite shows and movies On its earnings call with analysts Time Warner announced that its streaming service HBO Now which launched in 2015 has 2 million U S subscribers The company noted it does not expect pay TV subscription revenue growth until the second half of the year because it is taking longer for affiliate renewals to get completed It did forecast high single digit growth in revenue for 2017 One question for investors is whether the growth of HBO Now and the growing number of skinny bundles like AT T s DirecTV Now streaming service is coming at the cost of growth among its paid TV subscribers It s early days to see how much of that subscriber growth is incremental or substitutional said Michael Nathanson an analyst with MoffettNathanson If Time Warner can hit high single digit subscription revenue growth for HBO this year and continue to grow HBO at this pace that means the streaming service is taking shape as an incremental money maker said Tom Nollen an analyst with Macquarie Securities Time Warner reported net income of 317 million or 40 cents per share from continuing operations down from 857 million or 1 06 per share a year earlier Excluding 1 billion in premiums paid and costs incurred as part of debt repurchases the company earned 1 25 per share compared with the analysts average estimate of 1 19 Revenue rose to 7 89 billion from 7 08 billion Analysts on average expected 7 72 billion according to Thomson Reuters I B E S Revenue from Warner Bros the company s biggest revenue generator rose 17 percent to 3 87 billion Fantastic Beasts grossed more than 800 million globally as of Feb 5 according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo Revenue from HBO home to popular shows such as Game of Thrones and the new breakout series Westworld rose 5 6 percent to 1 49 billion The company also declared a quarterly dividend of 40 25 cents per share Shares were slightly higher at 96 47 in morning trading

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Golf Spieth seizes six shot lead at Pebble Beach

Reuters Jordan Spieth putted superbly on Pebble Beach s bumpy rain softened greens to surge six strokes clear after the third round of the weather hit AT T NYSE T Pebble Beach Pro Am on Saturday Joint leader when the fog delayed second round was completed earlier in the day the world number six fired a sparkling seven under par 65 on the picturesque Pebble Beach Golf Links one of three venues being used for this week s event Spieth eyeing his ninth PGA Tour victory needed no more than one putt on 13 of his 18 holes as he posted a 17 under total of 198 to tighten his grip on the tournament Brandt Snedeker a two time former champion at Pebble Beach who is also considered one of the best putters in the game carded a 67 on the same layout to finish the day alone in second at 11 under Spieth has been frustrated by his putting in recent weeks but found his touch on Saturday I hit my lines today the 23 year old told Golf Channel There were a couple of putts that went in that I thought maybe had a chance to miss but other than that I hit my lines and they rolled right there which is a huge confidence boost for me It s been something I ve been struggling with my putter this year compared to what I would call is standard for myself I ve been striking the ball really well but my third and ninth place finishes were off of very average putting on strokes gained Spieth finished third at the Sony Open in Hawaii and tied for ninth at the Phoenix Open in his previous two starts on the PGA Tour I definitely made up for it today and I hope to continue to tomorrow said the double major winner Long hitting Dustin Johnson who was grouped with Spieth for the first three rounds returned a 66 to share third at 10 under with Kelly Kraft 66 I played really well said U S Open champion Johnson who won back to back titles at Pebble Beach in 2009 and 2010 I ve been playing pretty solid all three days and I finally got a few putts to go in today It s not easy to get the ball close to the holes and when you do it s hard to make putts But I drove it really well and hit a lot of nice solid iron shots so just a pretty stress free day Australian world number one Jason Day had been tied for the lead at the tournament s halfway point with Spieth and Derek Fathauer but dropped five shots in his first six holes at Pebble Beach on the way to a 73 to end the round at seven under

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Golf Spieth wins emphatically by four shots at Pebble Beach

Reuters Jordan Spieth focused on boring golf and shrugged off an unexpected birdie drought in the final round as he clinched his ninth PGA Tour victory by four shots at the AT T NYSE T Pebble Beach Pro Am in California on Sunday A commanding six strokes ahead overnight the world number six carded a bogey free two under 70 on a picture perfect afternoon of unbroken sunshine on the Monterey Peninsula It s unbelievable Spieth 23 told CBS Sports after becoming the first player since Tiger Woods to win nine times on the PGA Tour before the age of 24 Today I hit 17 greens it was kind of a dream round for ball striking when you are leading by a bunch and I finally got one a birdie putt to go on 17 Boring golf double major champion Spieth said with a smile after totaling 33 putts on Sunday compared to 23 the previous day I apologize but that was kind of the game plan That s what was needed today and fortunately that s what we did to close it out We could afford to make a couple of mistakes if I needed to fortunately we didn t and we just stayed ahead The Texan finished at 19 under 268 while fellow American Kelly Kraft the 2011 U S amateur champion fired a 67 for second place at 15 under with compatriot American Dustin Johnson 68 a further stroke back Spieth who won the Australian Open in November has finished no worse than ninth in any of his past six starts worldwide He had produced a putting masterclass that yielded eight birdies at Pebble Beach on Saturday but his putter cooled down on Sunday as he recorded just two birdies at the same venue despite playing rock solid golf from tee to green A two putt birdie on the second hole was followed by a string of 14 consecutive pars that kept his closest challengers at bay before he picked up another at the par three 17th sinking a curling 30 footer before hoisting his putter skywards in celebration Asked by six times major winner Nick Faldo how he had managed to putt so well on the bumpy poa annua greens at Pebble Beach during the third round Spieth replied It s all speed work I m not thinking too much about the stroke finding a point kind of a mid point in the putt and dialing in the speed ahead of time training my hands for the speed of the greens and then from there just trying to hit it around that spot Australian world number one Jason Day rebounding from a disappointing 75 in the third round chipped in for eagle at the par five 14th on the way to a 67 and a three way tie for at fifth at 12 under

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Opening Bell Dollar Holds Gains As German Politics Sinks Stocks

by Pinchas Cohen Key Events Yesterday though Asian stocks except for Chinese shares in both Hong Kong and the mainland fell to start the trading week European and US stocks climbed The news that current Fed Chair Janet Yellen would also leave the Fed s board of governors in early February once her successor takes over as Fed Chairman was met with indifference by the market Considering the uncertainty that hit investors when her second in command then Vice Chair Stanley Fischer suddenly announced his early resignation in October that s certainly an unexpected reaction Under Yellen s watch the unemployment rate has fallen from 6 7 at the beginning of 2014 to 4 1 today As well the US s economic expansion continued during her tenure It currently ranks as the third longest period of growth in history for the nation s economy The S P 500 advanced after two consecutive weekly declines However traders punched out after prices failed to maintain their session highs on the news the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday to prevent AT T NYSE T from completing its 85 4 billion takeover of Time Warner NYSE TWX alleging antitrust issues Global Economic Affairs While investors are taking the departure of Yellen in stride notwithstanding that her position on the Fed s board of governors wouldn t have expired until 2024 there may still be a market reaction ahead When the realization dawns that her departure creates a fourth Fed vacancy for President Donald Trump to fill next year s interest rates could become less predictable Wednesday s release of the Fed Minutes will open a window into policy makers commitment to higher interest rates in December The Fed s tasks include the challenge of supporting long term Treasuries such as the 10 year currently seeing the narrowest gap with short term Treasuries including the 2 year in a decade The inability of long term Treasuries to move higher creates a vicious cycle in which the causal relationship is murky This could be occurring because institutional investors now have a dismal outlook on sustainable economic growth or a circular self fulfilling prophecy could be forming in which the dismal outlook increases investor negativity and so forth The Fed s challenge even a December hike won t help long term Treasuries since it s already priced in With the Thanksgiving holiday this coming Thursday investors are in for a shortened week that s typically known to be slow for the stock market It also marks the opening shot for companies to implement their year end tax related strategies As well as it being a shorter week trading volume is traditionally thin since many start their holiday related travel early This year however the holiday break brings added complexity putting additional pressure on markets With lawmakers on Capitol Hill also curtailing their activities tax reform the biggest market mover over the last few months will be brought to a standstill until the holiday break is over Having said that since these reasons have no sway on share value or inherent sentiment the negative effects should be limited both in time and price This morning stocks in Asia rallied across the board led by Tokyo and Hong Kong though South Korea s KOSPI bucked the trend The MSCI Asia Pacific Index neared a decade high Chinese stocks resumed their rally led by a rebound in financial shares which earlier in the week took a hit on the governments repeated warnings about unsustainable gains and the continuous crackdown on shadow banking which began last year After the knee jerk selloff that began late last week investors have come to realize that even with the stricter regulations China is still a target rich trading environment The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell though the euro eked out a gain after yesterday s worst slide in three weeks The single currency could be headed still lower The dollar received a boost when its biggest currency partner the euro fell 0 31 percent yesterday closing near the low of the session a sign that after an initial 0 31 percent advance euro bears went home smiling The euro first fell in early trading yesterday after Merkel s month long coalition negotiations collapsed even as the EU requires stability for Brexit negotiations However after German PPI met expectations the euro rebounded on the region s continued economic growth At the end of the day however the rebound was struck by technicals when the price reached a resistance line where supply has been overcoming demand at the falling channel top We forecast yesterday link above that the euro would retest the 1 1730 level It did and is now poised to resume the downtrend to retest its post German election low of 1 1554 While the currency failed to survive the political uncertainty Germany s DAX bounced from a seven week low As has been said before and it s particularly true this year while currency and commodity traders are very sensitive to geopolitics ever since the Brexit vote of June 2016 equity investors continuously brush off the headlines So while euro traders sold off and the currency resumed its downtrend equity traders seemed to have decided that even though the coalition talks failed it won t threaten the economy Equities gain another benefit when their base currency slides Local company exports become more competitive even as local shares become cheaper and thus more appealing to international investors Despite the Asia rally shares in Europe took a step back at the open as equity traders showed they were being mindful of politics a relatively rare occurrence German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she s prepared to stand for early elections sending bunds higher The Turkish lira reached a new all time low against the dollar after the USD TRY pair climbed above the January 11 3 9423 peak posting a new record high of 3 9779 and settling on 3 9592 as of 4 15 EDT Recent attempts by the Turkish central bank to support both the lira as well as Turkey s sovereign bonds have failed to bolster either asset The central bank announced it would auction as much as 3 billion in instruments till the end of the year to help corporate borrowers manage foreign exchange positions The currency still weakened more than 1 percent and yields on 10 year lira debt surged to a record 13 01 percent Even today s announcement by the central bank that it would cut bank borrowing limits barely helped the floundering currency Except for its pairing with the Turkish lira the dollar was little changed since yesterday when it rebounded from a 0 46 percent decline to close near the top of its range on a 0 06 percent advance leaving it with just a 0 50 percent reversal The rise of the USD the base currency for precious metals makes them more expensive reducing demand which in turn causes prices to fall Gold also suffered a risk on selloff pushing it to its biggest fall in two months Like the dollar precious metals today were little changed The UK s sweetened divorce bill to the EU spurred a potentially slower UK economic growth outlook This is putting sterling and gilt traders on the defensive Although the pound received a boost yesterday on reports the UK was prepared to double the divorce bill the currency is still locked in a range since October 13 The Australian dollar fell to a five month low after the central bank signaled that low interest rates are here to stay for now Oil rebounded paring losses The commodity is now eyeing its two year high resistance ahead of US government data to be released tomorrow forecast to show crude stockpiles resumed declines Up Ahead Minutes from the European Central Bank s October meeting due on Thursday could show dissent in the discussion about tapering In Asia Singapore 3Q GDP is due on Thursday New Zealand s October trade and South Korea s November consumer confidence figures are due later in the week Reports on sales of previously owned homes and durable goods orders for October are due Tuesday and Wednesday respectively in the U S The U K announces its budget Wednesday Market Moves Stocks The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0 3 percent as of 8 17 a m London time The U K s FTSE 100 fell 0 3 percent to the lowest in almost eight weeks Germany s DAX increased 0 5 percent to the highest in more than a week The MSCI Emerging Markets Index jumped 0 9 percent to the highest in more than six years S P 500 Futures declined 0 1 percent Currencies The Dollar Index remained steady at 94 06 holding on to yesterday s 0 42 percent gain The euro advanced 0 2 percent the largest gain in a week The British pound advanced 0 2 percent to 1 3261 reaching the strongest in three weeks on its sixth consecutive advance The Japanese yen advanced 0 1 percent to 112 48 per dollar Bonds The yield on 10 year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 2 36 percent Germany s 10 year yield decreased one basis point to 0 35 percent the lowest in almost two weeks Britain s 10 year yield was unchanged at 1 292 percent Commodities West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0 2 percent to 56 53 a barrel Gold climbed 0 3 percent to 1 280 78 an ounce Copper declined 0 1 percent to 3 11 a pound

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Euro Snaps Back Sterling Remains In Narrow Range

The US dollar has largely been confined to yesterday s trading ranges against the major currencies amid light news The North American session does not hold much hope for fresh impetus The US reports October existing home sales which are not typically market moving in the best of times Yellen does not speak until after the markets close and even then is unlikely to sway expectations which have priced in a rate hike next month There are a couple of exceptions to the inside trading days First the dovish twist to the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia s recent meeting saw the Australian dollar make a marginal new five month low of almost 0 7530 before rebounding smartly to push above yesterday s high A close above 0 7575 would be constructive Investors seemed to latch on to the RBA s disappointment with the weak wage growth and increased competitive pressure in retailing as restraining prices However Governor Lowe s comment that although there is no strong case for a near term adjustment in policy the next move is likely to spark the recovery With the daily technical indicators stretched we had anticipated that a new low would not be sustained The euro was sold in early Europe and marginal new lows were recorded 1 1715 However the single currency snapped back quickly Initial resistance is seen near 1 1760 German politics remains the chief talking point The German President is sounding out the different parties to see if there is a possibility of a coalition Initial surveys suggest Merkel is in tune with the public in preferring new elections to a minority government Both of these options are unusual for modern Germany We suspect talk of the end of Merkel s tenure is greatly exaggerated A survey suggests Merkel s CDU will remain the largest party and within the CDU there does not appear to be a compelling alternative At first it seemed that a minority government would be preferable to new elections The fear seemed to be that new elections would see the AfD bolstered but the initial poll suggests this is not the case The FDP is seen as somewhat irresponsible and may suffer on its leader s gamble The Greens appear to have won a few new supporters Investors do not seem to think that the unsettled political scene is a threat to the stability of economic performance of Germany The DAX gapped lower yesterday and quickly filled the gap to close 0 5 higher It is extending those gains today to trade at a five day high Technically we see immediate scope for another 0 5 1 0 gain The euro may be helped by some cross rate gains Concern about house prices and weak interbank rates continue to weigh on the Swedish krona The euro surged above SEK10 0 for the first time since last November We note that the three month interbank rate in Sweden fell to a record low yesterday Ironically while the Swedish krona is the weakest of the major currencies today the Norwegian krone is battling the Aussie for the top position and this despite the fact that three month interbank rates also fell to record lows yesterday Sterling is in narrow ranges in the upper end of yesterday s ranges The government borrowing in October was a little more than expected but this was offset by the downward revision to the September borrowing The market is looking toward tomorrow s autumn budget announcement by Hammond and tracking the latest developments over Brexit Reports suggest the UK Cabinet supported Prime Minister May doubling its initial financial offer Other reports say she will accept that after Brexit EU citizens in the UK will be protected by the European Court of Justice There were no reports of fresh proposals about the Irish border There is some thought that if the UK offers progress on the EU citizen s rights and its financial obligation the Irish border issue could be kicked down to be addressed within a new trade agreement That seems to be a gamble and such gambles based on looking for a room to divide and conquer have not been particularly successful in the Brexit negotiations Initial support is pegged near 1 3220 and nearby resistance is near 1 3270 The US dollar has toyed with the CAD1 2820 area which is important from a technical vantage point It rose to almost CAD1 2840 in early European turnover It ran into a wall of offers and reversed lower There is a 1 5 bln option that expires today struck at CAD1 2750 than could come into play After slipping yesterday the MSCI Asia Pacific Index recovered 0 9 today Equity markets in Hong Kong Taiwan and Singapore advanced by more than 1 Hong Kong s Enterprise Index H shares advanced nearly 3 led by real estate and financials European shares are also moving higher The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is up about 0 3 Energy and information technology are leading the advance The telecoms sector is the only one in the red which may be a knock on effect from the US Justice Department seeking to block the AT T NYSE T Time Warner NYSE TWX merger Ten year benchmark yields are softer by 2 4 bp in Europe The 10 year US Treasury yield is paring yesterday s increase but at 2 35 is still a basis point above last week s closing levels and sits on the five day average oil prices are firm helped perhaps by speculation that US oil stocks may have fallen for the first time in three weeks EIA estimate tomorrow Next week November 30 OPEC is expected to agree to extend output cuts

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Chart Of The Day Trading Time Warner As AT T Merger Blocked

by Pinchas Cohen Red Flag For Time Warner Investors Perhaps the most repeated new phrase since the Trump campaign is fake news It s no secret that the US President doesn t care for media companies except for the reliably supportive Fox News It is no surprise then that the Department of Justice is going after the AT T NYSE T Time Warner NYSE TWX merger two media companies that aren t on President Trump s good side claiming that the new entity would wield too much power and violate antitrust rules Given that this is the Trump administration which seems to tenaciously cling to those pieces of legislation it most wants to see enacted regardless of how frequently said legislation may be shot down consider the never ending conflict over US immigration policy a topic the White House no matter how many times it s attacked in court we might expect to see a drawn out process contesting the DOJ s suite as well Thus until this is merger is put to bed one way or another undoubtedly shareholders will be unnerved Shares of Time Warner fell as much as 6 45 percent and settled with a 3 75 loss on November 2 after the report that the DOJ would block the merger After three days of struggle between bears and dip buyers the price fell another 6 4 percent on November 8 followed by a third 1 5 percent decline The overall plunge on the DOJ challenge to the merger was 12 05 or 12 percent over as little as six trading sessions It erased a full year of gains for the stock which had been spurred by the Trump Bump the post election animal spirits stock market revival The extraordinarily sharp decline formed the flag pole whereas the consolidation since the anniversary of the Trump victory formed the flag which is a continuation pattern When a downside breakout completes it signals a repeat of the preceding move While the flag pole represents the panicked selloff the flag represents profit taking and a concern that the selloff was panicked and therefore unsustainable A downside breakout signals here we go again which eggs on traders into the same emotional selloff as the one prior to the interruption by the flag Measuring The Target Price Since the expectation is for a minimum of a repeated move the target price is measured according to the length of the flag pole from the November 2nd height of 99 85 to the November 9th low of 86 38 to a total of 13 50 from the flag bottom forming the target of 72 88 Stop Loss To give yourself a fighting chance you d need to get on the good side of statistics That means cutting losses and running with wins in contrast to what novice traders do which is the single biggest reason for their failure An acceptable risk reward ratio is 1 3 Since the target provides a 13 50 reward the stop loss may be up to 4 50 above the entry point However traders could get a more favorable ratio Even if you re waiting on the conservative 3 percent penetration without waiting for a return move for an entry closer to the pattern s resistance the risk is only 2 59 nearly half of the allowed 4 5 to satisfy the 1 3 risk reward ratio In other words even with the most conservative breakout and the most aggressive entry not waiting for the potential return move the risk reward ratio is 1 5 It increases exponentially in your favor the longer you wait for the return move to be fulfilled bringing a potential entry to the bottom of the flag Trading Strategies Conservative traders should hold on for a decisive 3 percent downside breakout from the flag s 86 38 lower boundary then wait for a likely return move to retest the flag s resistance and then wait for evidence of such resistance with a close lower at least than the price action of the preceding up day placing a stop loss above the 86 38 level Moderate traders would wait for at least a 2 percent downside breakout and a potential return move allowing for a better entry with a stop loss above the flag s lower boundary Aggressive traders may enter a short position after a 1 percent downside penetration with a stop loss above the flag s lower boundary Waiting for a return move even for a partial one would reduce the distance to the stop loss and the depth of risk it carries

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Political Uncertainty In Europe Weighs On Risk Appetite Major European PMI Data Disappoints April 23 2012

Economic Data EU ECB 311M borrowed in overnight loan facility v 335M prior 775 7B parked in deposit facility v 746 5B prior FR France Apr Business Confidence 95 v 96e Production Outlook 14 v 15 prior Own Company Production Outlook 4 v 8 prior FR France Apr Preliminary PMI Manufacturing 47 3 v 47 4e PMI Services 46 4 v 50 1e CH Swiss M3 Money Supply Y Y 6 6 v 6 4 prior CH Swiss Q1 Real Estate Index Family Homes 410 4 v 404 6 prior NL Netherlands Apr Producer Confidence 3 3 v 2 6 prior DE Germany Apr Advanced PMI Manufacturing 46 3 v 49 0e PMI Services 52 6 v 52 3e EU Eurozone Apr Advanced PMI Manufacturing 46 0 v 48 1e PMI Services 47 9 v 49 3e PMI Composite 47 4 v 49 3e IT Italy Apr Consumer Confidence 89 0 v 96 5e TW Taiwan Mar Industrial Production Y Y 3 4 v 6 5 e v 8 4 prior Commercial Sales Y Y 1 1 v 0 5 e TW Taiwan Mar Unemployment Rate 4 1 v 4 2 e HK Hong Kong Mar CPI Composite Index Y Y 4 9 v 4 9 e EU Eurozone 2011 Govt Debt GDP Ratio 87 2 v 85 3 prior IT Italy March Non EU Foreign Trade Balance 495M v 3 1B y y Fixed Income SL Slovakia Debt Agency ARDAL sold 125 8M in 12 month Bills Yield 1 0602 v 0 9798 prior bid to cover 2 33x vs 2 08x prior DE Germany sold 1 96B in 12 Month BuBills Avg Yield 0 0765 v 0 0765 prior Bid to cover 2 3x v 1 4x prior Notes ObservationsChina HSBC Apr Flash PMI rises to 49 1 but remains below the key 50 level for the 6th straight month Netherlands budget talks collapse putting its AAA sovereign rating at risk France presidential candidate Hollande wins 1st round over Sarkozy as expected Run off set for May 6th Far Right party led by Le Pen posts strong 3rd place Lots of central bank meetings during the week with FOMC decision on Wed and BOJ on Friday ECB says it was not pressured at IMF meeting to lower interest rates Major European Advanced PMI data disappoint German PMI data at odds with recent IFO and ZEW readings EquitiesIndices FTSE 100 1 7 at 5674 DAX 2 7 at 6568 CAC 40 1 9 at 3128 IBEX 35 3 1 at 6830 FTSE MIB 3 at 13 966 SMI 1 7 at 6130 European equity indices opened the session lower and most indices have continued to trade lower by more than 1 In Spain the IBEX 35 has once again hit fresh 3 yr lows with some dealers eying the 6 702 area Banks are trading lower across the board amid the rise in peripheral bond yields Factors weighing on the indices include PMI data out of China and Germany political concerns related to France and the Netherlands and higher peripheral yields Additionally there have been some concerns that the IMF could face delays in deploying its newly expanded resources In Germany automakers are trading lower across the board BMW BMW DE has declined by more than 2 as the company said that it saw Chinese sales slowing in the coming months BMW also noted that Europe continues to be challenging Lufthansa LHA DE is lower by more than 2 on speculation that the firm is planning to implement approx 1B in cost cutting measures while Man SE MAN DE has lost over 3 as the company is trading ex dividend Philips PHIA NL is higher by over 4 after reporting better than expected Q1 results Also TomTom TOM2 NL has lost over 5 after the company gained more than 10 on Friday s session on speculation that it could pursue a delisting Italian names Fiat F IT and Fiat Industrial FI IT are both lower as the companies are trading ex dividend Cable Wireless Worldwide CW UK has gained over 16 after receiving a bid worth more than 1B from Vodafone VOD UK In Switzerland Nestle NESN CH is lower by approximately 3 after confirming plans to acquire Pfizer s infant nutrition unit for 11 85B in cash

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Stock Indexes ETFs Back To Resistance Big Week Ahead

Major U S stock indexes and ETFs climbed back to the ceiling this past week but failed to break higher Shrugging off weak economic reports and focusing on overall strong U S earnings reports U S stock indexes and ETFs climbed back to and stopped at recent resistance levels On My Wall Street Radar In the chart of the S P 500 NYSEARCA SPY above we can see how this major index has climbed back into serious resistance levels Relative strength RSI is above 50 and climbing which is bullish and short term momentum as represented by MACD has recently generated a buy signal and all of this comes within the context of an ongoing uptrend with the S P 500 NYSEARCA SPY above both its 50 and 200 day moving averages However we now find ourselves in the most frustrating of all conditions a long sideways channel or trading range this one being between resistance at 1400 1420 and support at 1360 A break above 1400 1420 would indicate the end of the channel and the resumption of the current trend upwards while a reversal below 1360 would indicate a correction could be underway The Economic View From 35 000 Feet For the week the major indexes were positive with the Dow Jones Industrial Average NYSEARCA DIA gaining 1 5 the Nasdaq 100 NYSEARCA QQQ adding 2 3 and the Russell 2000 NYSEARCA IWM climbing 2 7 The gains came in the face of some rather dismal economic reports with just a ray or two of sunshine while earnings reports in the United States continued to support bullish optimism On the positive side of the economic ledger we saw pending home sales for March vastly beat expectations by climbing 4 1 and new home sales improving as well The University of Michigan Confidence Index came in at 76 4 compared to 75 7 previously and overseas Spain and Italy stayed afloat with successful bond auctions On the downside the biggest shocker was the GDP estimate on Friday which indicated that Q1 GDP expanded by a mediocre 2 2 compared to 2 7 expected and the previously reported 3 0 Final sales were dismal and durable goods orders were weak while weekly unemployment claims clung stubbornly above 380 000 missing estimates for the week Overseas the big news came from Britain where the country entered a double dip recession joining Spain Italy and Netherlands whose government fell over national dissatisfaction with planned austerity programs The French election puts another twist in eurozone politics while German and Italian consumer and business confidence fell On the upside for the week were U S earnings reports particularly in the tech sector with Amazon AMZN and Apple AAPL blazing higher as U S companies continued to find ways to make money in a slowing global environment However the GDP report points to some significant structural weaknesses as much of it came from inventory buildup and not from final sales In either case this type of action cannot continue for the long term which can only be bad news for spending and earnings somewhere down the road Finally the FOMC says they re going to keep interest rates near zero for as far as the eye can see because they still see significant downside risks to the economy and unemployment isn t improving as rapidly as they d like Dr Bernanke s press conference was interesting as always as market participants are counting on the Fed to keep things going with more easing as Dr Bernanke promises he s ready willing and able to do This coming week brings earnings reports from the likes of Merck MRK Office Depot ODP Pfizer PFE Mastercard MA Clorox CLX and UBS UBS but the big news will be in economic reports which come hot and heavy all week Monday brings income spending and Chicago PMI Tuesday sees the widely watched ISM report construction spending and car sales Wednesday finds ADP Employment and factory orders Thursday brings the weekly jobs report and ISM non manufacturing and Friday brings the grandaddy of all economic reports the monthly Non Farm Payrolls and Unemployment Reports It s going to be a big week Bottom line Having made three tries to scale new highs the major U S indexes appear ready to give it another try We remain in bear alert mode from April 16th and this coming week s action will be significant as we move into the seasonally weak period of May through October Disclaimer Wall Street Sector Selector trades a wide range of exchange traded funds and positions can change at any time

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Medicinova Developmental Pharma With Massive Long Term Potential

Primary ticker MNOV Secondary tickers include AZN GSK MRK PFE I previously released an article referencing MediciNova MNOV which engages in the acquisition and development of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases for the United States market This is an up and coming company who has incredible potential as an investment because of its strong pipeline of six clinical stage compounds and tiny market capitalization As of the end of the trading day on May 1st this value was around 48 million I have seen companies that look far less appealing selling in a price range that reflects a 150 200 million dollar market cap Even if MNOV could achieve the bottom end of this range that would put it around 9 share compared to the 2 83 price it currently sits at Let s take a look Although this pipeline taken directly from MNOV s website contains numerous clinical pipelined drugs I want to focus on the most advanced clinical drug to date The drug candidate that I feel is not giving MNOV appropriate visibility is their MN 221 drug for Acute Exacerbations of Asthma more commonly referred to as an asthma attack Why is this drug important For starters asthma affects one in twelve people or about 25 million in the United States alone Secondly approximately two million emergency room visits per year are due to asthma attacks Of those about 500 000 lead to hospital stays MediciNova is looking to prevent these people from needing that expensive hospital stay by filling an unmet need for those not responding to the typical treatments The reason is pretty simple for people s tendency to go to a hospital for asthma breathing is the most critical necessity of life MediciNova has completed 2 phase II clinical studies for MN 221 with important data from one of the studies due out before the end of this month the other at the beginning of June Positive results from these studies could lead to a possible pivotal trial if the trials confirm the success of the prior phase 1 studies which should lead to a partnership with a large pharma Patients suffering from acute exacerbations of asthma in the emergency room who were not promptly responding to standard pharmacotherapy were enrolled in the study MediciNova is currently in the process of auditing and organizing the data and preparing to lock the database for a complete analysis In prior double blind studies MN 221 was given to patients from an IV Once in the bloodstream scientists believe MN 221 may directly enter the lungs and migrate to the irritated bronchial tubes eventually relaxing the muscles which may result in an open airway Most of the time when people go to the ER for an asthma attack they are given the same types of things they take at home just in higher doses combined with medical therapy It s clear to me that these advancements have not gone far enough to help people with a symptom as scary as not being able to breathe MediciNova is looking to fill an unmet need whose end result is 500 000 people not responding well to common treatments In modeling the market potential of MN 221 Chief Business Officer Michael Coffee that if the company can demonstrate a reduction in hospital admissions he believes that insurance payers would feel comfortable with an attractive branded price In an earlier Phase 2a trial the company generated data showing a 54 reduction in potential hospital admissions Given that we ve extrapolated to show that acute asthma and COPD exacerbations represent a combined annual worldwide sales potential in excess of 1 billion he adds Let s look at the current environment for treating asthma The most commonly prescribed asthma drug is GlaxoSmithKline s GSK Advair with projected sales of 7 4 billion Another popular drug is Merck Co s MRK Singulair which helps to block genetic signals that trigger airway constrictionAstraZeneca AZN Symbicort is an asthma drug that launched in the US in mid 2007 with 2007 sales of 1 6 billion It belongs to the same drug family as Advair ICS LABA but with slightly faster action Spiriva co marketed by Pfizer PFE and the privately held Boehringer Ingelheim is already used for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and works by blocking the nerves that can tighten the muscles surrounding the airways to the lungs These drugs are not for asthma attacks but rather less severe symptoms Again GlaxoSmithKline sells 7 4 billion dollars worth of their drug and it does not cover the most severe issues that asthma brings To me it seems like an incredible fit for one of these big players to partner with MediciNova if not flat out buy the company I Look at it this way Glaxo could fire away 200 Million dollars at MNOV and it would be a tiny 2 7 of the sales it did for one asthma drug of theirs This would then enable a company like Glaxo to treat not only the regular mild form of asthma but also the more serious life threatening variety Here is where the extremely small market cap again comes into play regarding MNOV What would this relatively tiny investment from GSK translate for MNOV shareholders Approximately 12 share The second most advanced product that MediciNova is working on is their MN 166 Ibudilast This has been approved for dizziness after stroke and asthma in Japan and South Korea and has treated more than three million patients But it was our scientists who determined that ibudilast had a potential clinical utility in central nervous system disorders Mr Coffee points out The company has conducted successful early stage testing to determine safety and tolerability of higher doses of ibudilast in three clinical areas progressive Multiple Sclerosis neuropathic pain and drug addiction In progressive MS Mr Coffee says the company is organizing a Phase 2b trial with MN 166 and anticipates announcing in the second half of this year the company s plans for conducting this trial In preclinical in vivo and in vitro studies MN 166 inhibited leukotriene activity phosphodiesterases and nitric oxide synthase all of which are inflammatory mechanisms known to be involved in Multiple Sclerosis These studies also suggested that MN 166 may suppress the production of pro inflammatory cytokines IL 1 TNF a and enhance the production of the anti inflammatory cytokines IL 4 IL 10 Based on the potential mechanisms of action of MN 166 its clinical safety history in Japan the results of pilot studies conducted by Kyorin Pharmaceutical in MS patients and the issuance of a U S patent covering the method of using MN 166 to treat the disease MediciNova decided to pursue development of MN 166 as a novel oral agent for the treatment of MS MediciNova also has non core programs in asthma interstitial cystitis generalized anxiety disorder thrombosis and overactive bladder that are in various stages of development The company is seeking to monetize these non core programs through licensing partnerships Let s take a look at the MNOV chart A nice symmetrical continuation triangle has formed also creating a nice wedge pattern The MACD and signal are trending upwards The volume has begun to pick up and this chart looks to be setting up a bullish short term pop to a price over 3 50 a share in my opinion possibly higher If the data from MN 221 turns out to be good and if phase 2 follows phase 1 and confirms expect MNOV to partner up with a large pharma and expect the stock price to move over 4 a share MN 221 faces a multi billion dollar market With MNOV being a very small cap coming in at around 49M savvy investors will see the huge value in this company moving forward in my strong opinion It is my opinion that MNOV is a strong speculative buy and worth taking a gamble on for a long term hold As I mentioned in I expect a run up to start within the next 2 weeks before the data on MN 221 is revealed At 3 02 a share no debt on the books and a market cap under 50 million MNOV is highly undervalued and should be selling for near 4 a share I would not be surprised to see a 4 a share price after the data on MN 221 is released My price target opinion 3 50 a share short term 4 25 midterm and an 8 one year target price Disclosure I am long MNOV Disclaimer This article is intended for informational and entertainment use only and should not be construed as professional investment advice but rather my opinions as a writer only Always do you own complete due diligence before buying and selling any stock

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Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Its Orphan Drug Could Attract Partners

Investment summary for Adventrx Pharmaceuticals ANX Sickle cell potentialFundamental to Adventrx s investment case is the successful development and commercialisation of ANX 188 a product that has the potential to become the standard of care for the treatment of severely painful crisis episodes in patients with sickle cell anaemia A two year pivotal Phase III trial is scheduled to start by the end of 2012 the design of which will draw on the experiences of a previous pivotal study that showed a clear benefit in reducing the duration of crisis in paediatric patients FDA negotiations ongoingANX 188 is the lead candidate in a limited development field to become the first approved therapy to reduce the duration of crisis episodes which typically require hospitalisation for six to seven days Discussions are ongoing with the FDA over the design of the pivotal study and reaching agreement which Adventrx expects in H212 presents an important milestone and potential catalyst Drawing on experiencesThe prior 250 patient Phase III trial missed its primary endpoint across all patients but showed a statistically significant benefit in children 15 years old who have less confounding factors that may obscure treatment effects in older patients ANX 188 also provides Adventrx with an opportunity to move on from disappointing outcomes from its prior strategy focused on reformulations of cancer drugs Orphan drug sweet spot could attract partnersWe assume Adventrx will commercialise ANX 188 itself in the US achievable given the condensed nature of the market but a partner could be secured GlycoMimetics licensed its Phase II candidate to Pfizer for up to 340m milestones Valuation 80m until ANX 188 progressesWe value Adventrx at 80m or 1 46 per share based on a sum of the parts DCF valuation using a standard 12 5 discount rate Our valuation is currently restricted to the potential use of ANX 188 in children in the US market based on market launch in 2016 and peak sales of 85m An FDA agreement and clarity on the pivotal study design is crucial and could lead to a re rating Cash of 46m is sufficient for two years assuming the trial starts by year end To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below

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Durata Therapeutics DRTX Pre IPO Report

Based in Morristown NJ Durata Therapeutics DRTX scheduled a 75 million IPO with a market capitalization of 192 at a price range mid point of 12 for Thursday July 19 2012 RECOMMENDATION DRTX wants to IPO at a price to book discount to CEMP and RIBX However we are concerned about DRTX s lack of intellectual property protection and would avoid the DRTX IPO DRTX S 1 filed July 9 2012 UNDERWRITERS Manager Joint Managers BofA Merrill Lynch Credit Suisse Co Managers RBC Capital Markets Wedbush PacGrow Life Sciences SUMMARY DRTX is pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for patients with infectious diseases and acute illnesses DRTX is owned 98 by venture capital firms pre IPO and expects to IPO at 2x book which is low for a pharmaceutical company The core business was acquired from Pfizer in 2009 It looks like DRTX is not protected very much by patents see INTELLECUAL PROPERTY below BUSINESS DRTX is a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for patients with infectious diseases and acute illnesses DRTX is currently enrolling and dosing patients in two global Phase 3 clinical trials with the lead product candidate dalbavancin for the treatment of patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections or abSSSI Dalbavancin is an intravenous antibiotic product candidate designed for once weekly dosing which DRTX believes will facilitate the treatment of patients with abSSSI in both the in patient and out patient settings by reducing the length of a patient s hospital stay or avoiding hospital admission altogether and ultimately lowering the overall cost of care for these patients DRTX is conducting each of these Phase 3 clinical trials pursuant to special protocol agreements or SPAs with the U S Food and Drug Administration or FDA based on draft guidance issued by the FDA in 2010 for the development of drugs to treat abSSSI DRTX also designed these trials based on scientific advice that we received from the European Medicines Agency or EMA in December 2010 to meet the regulatory filing requirements in the European Union PHASE 3 DRTX expects to complete these Phase 3 clinical trials and have initial top line data available in the beginning of 2013 If DRTX s ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials are successful DRTX plans to submit a New Drug Application or NDA to the FDA in the first half of 2013 and a marketing authorization application or MAA to the EMA in the second half of 2013 If approved DRTX intends to directly commercialize dalbavancin in the United States and Western Europe with a targeted hospital sales force and to utilize a variety of types of collaboration arrangements for commercialization in other markets ACQUISITION OF VICRON FROM PFIZER In December 2009 DRTX acquired all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Vicuron from Pfizer PFE DRTX paid total upfront consideration of 10 million for the Vicuron shares and dalbavancin inventory that DRTX acquired pursuant to a separate inventory transfer agreement with Pfizer Overseas LLC In March 2011 Pfizer refunded 6 million of the initial purchase price under the terms of the stock purchase agreement based on documentation DRTX provided that supported the position that marketing approval for dalbavancin required more than one new Phase 3 clinical trial Following the first commercial sale of dalbavancin for the treatment of abSSSI in the United States the United Kingdom Germany Italy Spain or France DRTX is obligated to pay Pfizer an additional milestone payment of 25 million However DRTX s sole discretion DRTX may elect to defer the milestone payment for a period of up to five years if DRTX delivers to Pfizer a promissory note for the full amount of such milestone payment INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Dalbavancin is protected by four issued U S patents consisting of two method of treatment patents a dosage form patent and a formulation patent patent protection is not available for composition of matter claims that only recite the active pharmaceutical ingredient for dalbavancin Because dalbavancin lacks composition of matter protection for its active pharmaceutical ingredient competitors will be able to offer and sell products with the same active pharmaceutical ingredient so long as these competitors do not infringe any other patents covering this drug COMPETITION There are also a number of products in clinical development by third parties to treat abSSSI These companies include pharmaceutical companies biotechnology companies and specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug companies of various sizes such as The Medicines Company Trius Therapeutics Inc Cempra Inc Rib X Pharmaceuticals Inc Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc Nabriva Therapeutrics AG Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc and Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc VENTURE CAPITAL 98 owned by Venture Capital Pre IPO Domain Associates 23 New Leaf Ventures II L P 23 Aisling Capital III LP 21 Sofinnova Venture Partners VII L P 17 Canaan VIII L P 14 EMPLOYEES As of June 30 2012 DRTX had 22 employees All of employees are engaged in administration finance clinical regulatory and business development functions USE OF PROCEEDS DRTX expects to receive 69 million IPO proceeds As of March 31 2012 DRTX had cash and cash equivalents of 25 3 million DRTX currently estimates that it will use the net proceeds from this offering together with cash and cash equivalents as follows 13 million to complete the clinical development of and seek marketing approval in the United States and the European Union for dalbavancin for the treatment of patients with abSSSI 20 million to fund commercial activities for dalbavancin in the United States and Western Europe if it is approved for the treatment of patients with abSSSI 15 million to fund the scale up of the manufacturing of dalbavancin in preparation for commercial launch 10 million to pursue the development of dalbavancin in additional indications and Remainder for working capital and other general corporate purposes which may include the in licensing or acquisition of other products or technologies

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Ford device to boost connectivity in its models without modems

SAN FRANCISCO Reuters Ford Motor NYSE F Co said on Friday it would sell a plug in device to enable features like remote start security alerts a Wifi hotspot and vehicle location assistance on 2010 2016 model year Ford and Lincoln cars The device would compete with similar products sold by other companies including devices from AT T NYSE T and Verizon that add a Wifi hotspot to older model cars The SmartLink technology in the Ford device allows models that do not come pre equipped with a modem to be more connected enabling doors to be locked and unlocked remotely and supplying engine management alerts the company said in a statement The after market device which plugs into the car s OBD II port below the steering wheel would be sold at dealerships beginning this summer Ford did not disclose a price All U S cars built after 1996 model year are mandated by law to have an OBD II port which has historically been used for onboard diagnostics Carmakers worry third party devices can interfere with their own embedded systems introduce security bugs and exploit data they say is their own such as the car s health or miles driven

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New FCC chair vows to shrink industry regulations

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The new Republican chairman of the U S Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai vowed to pare back outdated commission regulations but declined to say if he will move quickly to overturn the Obama administration s landmark net neutrality rules One top priority is to remove unnecessary or counterproductive regulations from the books Pai told reporters Tuesday after he chaired his first meeting We want to make sure that our regulations match the realities of the modern marketplace Pai who was tapped by President Donald Trump this month to run the FCC in December vowed to take a weed whacker to unnecessary FCC rules He opposed many rules imposed by the Obama administration including net neutrality broadband privacy and media ownership limits The net neutrality rules bar internet access protections from slowing consumer access to web content Internet providers fear net neutrality rules make it harder to manage internet traffic and make investment in additional capacity less likely The Republican controlled Congress is also considering rewriting the net neutrality rules Pai opposed the Obama administration s 2015 net neutrality rules that reclassified broadband providers and treated them like a public utility He said Tuesday he supports a free and open internet but opposes the reclassification In December Pai told some small broadband providers in a letter that it would not enforce the enhanced transparency rules He declined to say if he is considering not enforcing net neutrality rules for all companies even if they remain on the books We haven t made any determinations Pai said The FCC on Tuesday voted to abolish a requirement that cable systems commercial TV and radio broadcasters retain some public inspection files On Friday Pai withdrew proposed reforms of the 45 billion business data services market and 20 billion pay TV set top box market He declined to say if he will formally close any pending dockets A number of cable and wireless trade associations on Friday asked the FCC to put new broadband privacy rules on hold while the Republican controlled FCC considers whether to scrap the rules Pai declined to say if thought the AT T Inc NYSE T Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX merger should be subject to FCC review The companies said this month they only expect a review by the U S Justice Department

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Leonard outduels Westbrook as Spurs beat Thunder

The Sports Xchange If all anyone expected was a duel in the Alamo City between two of the NBA s erstwhile MVP candidates San Antonio s Kawhi Leonard and Oklahoma City s Russell Westbrook they might have been disappointed by the way the Spurs 108 94 win over the Thunder on Tuesday at the AT T NYSE T Center played out Yes Leonard 36 points and eight rebounds and Westbrook 27 points and 14 assists both led their respective teams in scoring and were spectacular in their own ways But it was the Spurs bench that proved to be the difference helping to turn the tide at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarters after San Antonio 37 11 squandered an 18 point lead over a horrid seven minute stretch The Spurs reserves responded by outscoring Oklahoma City 15 2 and once the starters returned the Thunder had no answer Overall the Spurs bench racked up 32 points to 22 for Oklahoma City s reserves with most of that damage coming in the pivotal stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters Leonard scored 30 or more points for the 15th time this season while LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 points and was the only other San Antonio player in double figure scoring We re fired up just playing against Russ out there just out there competing every possession Leonard said The way he s been playing has been ridiculous so you definitely want to rise up to the challenge We lost two games in a row so we were fired up off that just thinking about ourselves Westbrook who is the only player in the NBA averaging a triple double had just six rebounds he has still has never had a triple double against San Antonio Overall we played more competitively for more of the 48 minutes than we have recently Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said We played good defense in the first half and the fourth quarter but it s still a 48 minute game We have to figure that out Stephen Adams added 16 points and a game high 12 rebounds for the Thunder 28 21 Victor Oladipo scored 15 points Domantas Sabonis hit for 13 and pulled down 10 rebounds and Anthony Morrow tallied 11 points for Oklahoma City The Thunder had 20 turnovers that led to 24 points for San Antonio In the third quarter we took the lead but we needed more sustainability we did what we wanted to do but we just didn t do it for long enough Thunder coach Billy Donovan said There were some positive things we can take from this game but with our margin for error we can t have a lapse for a half or a bunch of turnovers that are difficult to overcome

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Here s Why You Should Add Mastec MTZ To Your Portfolio Now

MasTec Inc NYSE T reported better than expected third quarter results mainly owing to increased large Oil Gas project activity Also the company has won several large projects across multiple segments subsequent to the quarter end Given possibilities of future wins the company is expected to end 2018 with record backlogs As a result the company s share price has been increasing recently If you haven t taken advantage of the share price appreciation yet the time is right for you to add the stock to portfolio as it looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead Strong Q3 Performance Upbeat GuidanceMasTec posted third quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per share of 82 cents up 1 2 year over year surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 74 cents Net sales improved 23 year over year to a record 1 96 billion in the quarter outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 65 billion The Oil and Gas segment s revenues in the reported quarter improved 57 7 to 1 16 billion over the third quarter 2016 level and drove the top and bottom lines Backed by significant project wins subsequent to the third quarter MasTec expects record backlogs in the year end Meanwhile the company has hiked annual guidance for three times in a row Revenues are projected at record levels of 6 3 billion for fiscal 2017 24 higher than the previous year Annual adjusted EBITDA are expected grow 32 year over year to be around 630 million Adjusted earnings per share are projected at 2 80 up 47 compared with 1 90 in fiscal 2016 Positive Earnings Surprise HistoryMasTec has an impressive earnings surprise history outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 28 05 Estimates Moved NorthThe company s estimates for 2017 and 2018 have moved up in the past 30 days reflecting the positive outlook of analysts on the stock For 2017 the Zacks Consensus Estimate has climbed 2 to 2 79 per share and for 2018 the same has inched up 1 to 3 03 per share Zacks RankMasTec sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy and has a of B Here V stands for Value G for Growth and M for Momentum The company s score is a weighted combination of these three scores Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners In fact our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank 1 or 2 make solid investment choices Price Performance MasTec s shares have outperformed the in the past year The stock has gained 11 6 as against the industry s decline of 4 4 in the same time frame Stock Seems UndervaluedMasTec has a trailing 12 month price earnings P E ratio of 13 26 while the industry s average trailing 12 month P E ratio is 26 81 Based on this ratio the stock seems undervalued Return on EquityMasTec s trailing 12 month return on equity ROE supports its growth potential Its ROE in the trailing 12 months is 21 7 way more than its industry s average of 6 4 This reflects the company s efficient usage of shareholders funds Growth ProspectsMasTec s wireless business has significant potential given that substantial investments are expected in wireless infrastructure related to the densification associated with 5G deployment Every major carrier has publicly disclosed plans and initiatives for 5G Also AT T Inc NYSE T was awarded FirstNet a nationwide public safety wireless network Currently 28 states have opted into FirstNet Both 5G and FirstNet will be catalyst for 2018 revenues and will provide a significant boost in 2019 In its wireline markets fiber expansion continues to be a growth driver Also there has been a significant rise in margins as a result of the operational improvements carried out in the Power Generation and Industrial segment The top line is also likely to grow in the segment as project pipeline and bidding activity continues to be strong For the Electrical Transmission business prospects of large industry awards are likely to improve results in 2018 and beyond In the Oil Gas segment the pipeline business is being driven by strong demand in the United States MasTec has a long term expected earnings growth rate of 14 Other Stocks to ConsiderSome other top ranked stocks worth considering in the sector include EMCOR Group Inc NYSE EME and Sterling Construction Company Inc NYSE T sporting a Zacks Rank 1 You can see EMCOR delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 16 96 for the trailing four quarters The stock has gained 9 1 in the previous year Sterling Construction pulled off an average earnings surprise of 65 19 for the last four quarters The stock has surged 106 3 in the prior year Zacks Best Private Investment IdeasWhile we are happy to share many articles like this on the website our best recommendations and most in depth research are not available to the public Starting today for the next month you can follow all Zacks private buys and sells in real time Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum from stocks under 10 to ETF and option moves from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors

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Is AT T T A Great Stock For Value Investors

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment After all who wouldn t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process Let s put AT T Inc NYSE T stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value oriented investors right now or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks PE RatioA key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio or PE for short This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock s current PE ratio with a where this ratio has been in the past b how it compares to the average for the industry sector and c how it compares to the market as a whole On this front AT T has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 11 8 as you can see in the chart below This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large as the PE for the S P 500 stands at about 20 6 If we focus on the long term PE trend AT T s current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past five years with the number having risen rapidly over the past few months Further the stock s PE also compares favorably with the broader sector s trailing twelve months PE ratio which stands at 14 At the very least this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now compared to its peers We should also point out that AT T has a forward PE ratio price relative to this year s earnings of just 11 7 so it is fair to say that a slightly more value oriented path may be ahead for AT T stock in the near term too P S RatioAnother key metric to note is the Price Sales ratio This approach compares a given stock s price to its total sales where a lower reading is generally considered better Some people like this metric more than other value focused ones because it looks at sales something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings Right now AT T has a P S ratio of about 1 3 This is much lower than the S P 500 average which comes in at 3 3x right now Also as we can see in the chart below this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years If anything T is in the lower end of its range in the time period from a P S metric suggesting some level of undervalued trading at least compared to historical norms Broad Value OutlookIn aggregate AT T currently has a Value Score of A putting it into the top 20 of all stocks we cover from this look This makes AT T a solid choice for value investors What About the Stock Overall Though AT T might be a good choice for value investors there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name In particular it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of C and a Momentum Score of D This gives T a Zacks VGM score or its overarching fundamental grade of B You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores Meanwhile the company s recent earnings estimates have been unfavorable The current quarter has seen four estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to seven lower while the full year estimate has seen ten down in the same time period This has had just a small impact on the consensus estimate though as the current quarter consensus estimate has decreased 1 5 in the past two months while the full year estimate has inched lower by 1 You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below AT T Inc Price and Consensus The stock has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold and we are looking for in line performance from the company in the near term Bottom LineAT T is an inspired choice for value investors as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front However with a sluggish industry rank among Bottom 10 of more than 250 industries and a Zacks Rank 3 it is hard to get too excited about this company overall In fact over the past two years the broader industry has clearly underperformed the market at large as you can see below So value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first but once that happens this stock could be a compelling pick Zacks Hidden TradesWhile we share many recommendations and ideas with the public certain moves are hidden from everyone but selected members of our portfolio services Would you like to peek behind the curtain today and view them Starting now for the next month I invite you to follow all Zacks private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum from stocks under 10 to ETF to option movers from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises we ve called them with 80 accuracy You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors

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Company News For Nov 21 2017

Shares of Dycom Industries Inc NYSE DY jumped 9 1 after reporting fiscal first quarter adjusted earnings of 0 99 per share beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 0 91Time Warner Inc s NYSE TWX shares decreased 1 1 following reports that AT T NYSE T will be sued by the U S Department of Justice to prevent AT T from acquiring Time WarnerShares of Roche Holding SIX ROG AG OTC RHHBY advanced 5 9 after the company announced that its phase III IMpower150 study has met its co primary endpoint of progression free survivalIntra Cellular Therapies Inc s NASDAQ ITCI shares climbed 5 6 after the company has been granted Fast Track designation for lumateperone by the FDA to treat schizophrenia

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RadioShack Stock Tumbles Vol Explodes on Pre Announcement

RadioShack Corporation RSH is engaged in the retail sale of consumer electronics goods and services through its RadioShack store chain The stock is down substantially on a pre announcement which obviously wasn t very good news Here s a quick snippet to summarize the report RadioShack Corp shares plummeted 29 percent morning trading The company announced it beat fourth quarter revenue expectations but will miss profit estimates due to selling smartphones at lower prices The Shack explained The Company s results for the fourth quarter are due in large part to the underperformance of the Sprint postpaid wireless business and reflect further unanticipated changes in Sprint s customer and credit models CEO Jim Gooch said the company is moving towards more profitable sales from Verizon and AT T Source WALL ST CHEAT SHEET via Yahoo Finance 12 Super Hot Stocks RadioShack Drops 30 Mattel Pops 5 and Pfizer Holds Steady written by Eric McWhinnie Icky Let s look to the Charts Tab six months below The top portion is the stock price the bottom is the vol IV30 red vs HV20 blue vs HV180 pink On the stock side we can see that single data point down to the 7 level on the news today On the vol side we can see the 50 pop in the implied What s interesting here is that while the news was unexpected it s now out Normally No matter what the news on earnings i e good or bad the vol dips as the event is over and digested in the underlying It s that elevated vol that caught my attention Let s turn to the Skew Tab We can the front is elevated while the skew shapes are all similar According to the RSH investor relations website the next actual earnings report is due out on 2 21 2012 which is after Feb expiry and in Mar Tricky Finally let s turn to the Options Tab I wrote about this one for TheStreet OptionsProfits so no specific trade analysis here We can see the vols across the top per expiry 73 45 63 70 and 57 92 for Feb Mar and Apr respectively Again earnings are in the Mar expiry The 52 wk range in IV30 31 30 72 91 so the level today is fast approaching the annual high it s in the 86th percentile The Feb sigma is actually above the annual high in IV30 This is trade analysis not a recommendation

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Watson Pharmaceuticals Low Vol Pharma Shows Vol Explosion on Deal News

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc WPI is an integrated global pharmaceutical company engaged in the development manufacturing marketing sale and distribution of generic and brand pharmaceutical products WPI is a cool company in that it s a pharma with a vol normally in the 20 s This however is a vol note as the stock and vol are popping on news Let s start with the story Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc WPI is in talks to buy Actavis Group hf a Swiss maker of generic drugs a person with knowledge of the matter said Watson made an unsolicited approach to Actavis said the person who declined to be identified because the discussions are confidential There are no other suitors at the moment and a deal may be weeks away the person said Reuters which reported the discussions earlier today said Watson may pay 5 billion euros 6 6 billion to 5 5 billion euros Watson Chief Executive Officer Paul Bisaro said in January the Parsippany New Jersey based company was interested in buying either a generic or brand name drugmaker Our appetite for a larger transaction it s there Bisaro said at the JPMorgan Chase Co health care conference in San Francisco Charlie Mayr a Watson spokesman said the company doesn t comment on speculation Frank Staud a spokesman for Zug based Actavis also declined to comment Watson the maker of the authorized copy of Pfizer Inc s cholesterol pill Lipitor is looking to expand its international reach as well as the company s portfolio of brand name drugs Source Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance Watson Said to Be in Talks to Buy Swiss Drugmaker Actavis written by Aaron Kirchfeld and Naomi Kresge Tricky A vol and stock rise as the potential acquirer The appetite part feels a little scary coming from the CEO but it makes for some cool vol analysis The news has driven some order flow as over 18 000 contracts have traded on total daily average volume of just 2 464 Calls have traded on a 3 8 1 ratio to puts with the action in the May 65 and Apr 65 calls The Stats Tab and day s biggest trades snap are included below The Options Tab below demonstrates that the Apr 65 calls are mostly opening compare trade size to OI The May 65 calls are more ambiguous The color I got on the May 65 calls was that the 4 588 lot was a purchase without stock The Apr 65 calls are hard to tell look two sided although the vol rise is circumstantial evidence of purchases Let s turn to the Skew Tab It s interesting that the May options are priced to higher vol than Apr given that the news feels pending It s also noteworthy that the Aug options show a normal skew in that the OTM calls are priced to lower vol than the ATM options That is not the case for Apr and May where the skew is flattish or even bent up to the upside The next earnings release should be in the May expiry but outside of Apr Finally let s turn to the Charts Tab six months below The top portion is the stock price the bottom is the vol IV30 red vs HV20 blue vs HV180 pink This was actually a stock trading over 70 as recently as September It hit as low as 55 89 closing in Jan We can see the stock spike today On the vol side we can see a bumpy ride in between 20 and 40 in the implied Before today IV30 closed at 22 60 It s up 28 8 today The 52 wk range in IV30 is 19 84 41 25 putting vol in the 45th percentile annual As of yesterday s close IV30 was in the 6th percentile My curiosity here lies in whether the upside really has any more legs and on the flip side if the downside is still a legitimate risk if this deal falls apart This is trade analysis not a recommendation

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Leonard inspires Spurs to thumping win over Lakers

The Sports Xchange Kawhi Leonard poured in 31 points in just three quarters of play and four of San Antonio s starters scored in double figures as the Spurs demolished the Los Angeles Lakers 134 94 at the AT T NYSE T Center on Thursday San Antonio s total was a season high as were the 72 points scored by the Spurs in the first half and the 40 point margin of victory Pau Gasol added 22 points for San Antonio while LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker added 13 each all in just three quarters of the lopsided game The Spurs also got 12 points from Jonathon Simmons 10 from Dejounte Murray and a game high 12 rebounds from Dewayne Dedmon All 13 players who took the floor for San Antonio scored and the Spurs 31 8 outshot Los Angeles 60 5 percent to 41 2 percent The Lakers 15 28 were led by Julius Randle s 22 points but the rest of their starters managed just 20 total points Reserves Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams added 14 and 10 points respectively as the Lakers lost to San Antonio for the ninth straight time The Spurs hit 14 of their 24 field goal attempts in the first quarter on the way to a 36 24 lead after 12 minutes Leonard was 5 of 5 from the floor in the period including all thee from three point territory and led all scorers with 14 points while staking San Antonio to a 36 19 lead before he went to the bench The Lakers took advantage to finish the period on a 5 0 run to cut the San Antonio advantage to 36 24 at quarter s end A 7 0 run by Los Angeles capped by a steal and a dunk by Randle cut the Spurs lead to 45 41 at the 7 04 mark of the second quarter However there was no panic from San Antonio which promptly pushed its advantage back to eight points on layups by Parker and Leonard The Spurs outscored Los Angeles 23 13 over the rest of the quarter including three free throws by Leonard after he was fouled by D Angelo Russell attempting a shot from beyond half court with 0 3 seconds remaining The result was a 72 54 San Antonio lead at intermission San Antonio poured it on in the third quarter pushing its lead to 106 75 on a Simmons running one hander to beat the buzzer to end the period The Spurs were relentless inside Gasol had six points in the quarter including a thumping dunk and out as even Aldridge poured in a three pointer The Spurs outshot Los Angeles 65 percent to 35 percent in the quarter with 18 of their 34 points in the period coming in the paint With the game all but decided both teams played mostly reserves in the fourth

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Antares Pharma A Lower Risk Small Cap With Larger Cap Potential

In this article I would like to talk about a company I own a substantial amount of shares in The company s name is Antares Pharma and is listed on The AMEX exchange It s current closing price as of 4 10 12 is 2 98 a share with a market cap of 309 01M At first glance Antares appears to be over valued but in this article I will give my opinion why I believe the stock is actually grossly undervalued considering its strong potential moving forward to be an eventual larger cap company First off if we valuate Antares on what the company earns now the stock would certainly appear to be again over valued Antares will likely bring in around 25 million dollars in revenue this year with most of this revenue as profit These revenues will primarily come from royalty deals the company has made in the last few years with larger pharmas such as Watson Pharma Teva and Pfizer Antares does not have much capital expenditures in these deals so again the company will see mostly profit from the 25 million number Antares focuses on self injection pharmaceutical products and technologies and topical gel based products It offers injection devices which include Zomajet 2 Vision Zomajet Vision X Twin Jector EZ II and Tjet for human growth hormone Medi Jector Vision for insulin Vibex disposable pressure assisted auto injectors that enables a controlled pressure delivery of drugs into the body utilizing a spring power source and disposable pen injectors which are needle based devices designed to deliver multiple injections from multi dose drug cartridges Antares also is in a strong position to take advantage of the eventual emergence of the and market Rather than me going on about every specific detail about what Antares offers in specific detail I encourage readers to visit its company website and download What excites me about Antares are the recent comments the company s CEO Paul Wotton made at a He flatly stated that Antares will not be engaging in anymore royalty deals He went on to state that Antares is looking for partnerships along the lines of a 50 50 split notwithstanding that the company plans to market and commercialize most of their top line products in the future You can find Wotton s remark concerning Antares no longer seeking royalty deals but full partnerships at the 25 19 mark on the recording of The Roth Capital investor s conference linked above One such product Antares plans to go it alone is a self injector that will be pre filled with doctor prescribed doses of Clicking on the VIBEX MTX link will bring you to a prior article of mine where I lay out some revenue projections for VIBEX MTX In collaboration with a fellow Antares investor our Vibex MTX U S market earnings formula is as follows 2 Million patients in U S 10 15 market share 50 per injection 52 weeks 52 margin May 2014 commercial launch possibly earlier Our equation produced the following high low MTX earnings projections for 2014 and 2015 2014 203M 1 70 eps 135M 1 13 eps 2015 405M 3 24 eps 270M 2 16 eps Now when we look at the total projected revenue for all Antares product sales in 2015 we come up with the following numbers 12 5M HgH global royalties and margin from device and component sales 8 1M EpiPen U S royalties and margin from device sales 10M Vibex2 U S royalties and margin from device sales 6M Pen1 royalties and margin from device sales EU only in 2015 12 5M Pen2 U S EU royalties and margin from device sales 9M Gelnique Anturol global royalties 1 5M Elestrin royalties 277M Vibex MTX U S sales and EU royalties and margin from device sales 140M VIBEX QS1 U S sales and EU royalties and margin from device salesPfizer deal unknown Guess is 7MNestraGel the wild card factor I will comment more on later in this article 476 6M Total Revenues 2015 Nearly 500M in revenues is what we believe Antares will bring to the table in 2015 placing the fair value low end estimate of Antares Stock at around 20 a share in roughly 3 years from now All of this would not mean a lot if management does not execute The number one factor for me to take a risk on a small cap is confidence in competent management When Dendrean gained approval a couple of years ago for its Prostate cancer drug Provenge the stock went from 10 all the way up to over 57 before crashing back down to under 8 This happened because management failed to inform insurance companies of the cost for the drug This is a case of a good product but poor management execution In fact most all small cap companies that fail do so because of poor management execution money mismanagement and other various issues involving incompetence I encourage those interested in Antares to do due diligence on Dr Paul Wotton The Antares CEO I find him conservative smart and very focused without offering B S hype in conference calls On The Antares website you can listen to the company s conference calls and investor conference presentations Antares expects to file an NDA for VIBEX MTX in 2012 and is seeking a licensing partner for territories outside of the U S and Canada Antares will go it alone without a partner for the U S market This product has a high profit margin rate with reasonable capital expenditures Nestragel The true wild card factor that deal for it this year can potentially double the Antares stock overnight Paul Wotton can be heard commenting on Nestragel at the 23 20 mark of The Roth Capital California investor s conference As I remarked earlier CEO Wotton has stated Antares is not interested in royalty deals anymore but partnerships Nestragel is rub on Female contraception which I project will be a massive money maker in 5 years potentially bringing Antares up to 500M A year in revenues if the deal involves a true partnership and not a royalty licensing deal Wotton remarked that talks are ongoing for a partnership for Nestragel Nestragel has been thru phase 1 and phase 2 clinical and now is ready for Phase 3 clinical My I wrote for Seeking Alpha covered Nestragel s market potential and various other factors involved in the female contraception market Being my first article for Seeking Alpha it reads a little bit like an infomercial so it can be a little funky to read Many investors have been wondering why there has not been a deal yet for this product I believe the answer for this is contained once again in Paul Wotton s comments from Antares s last investor conference presentation It is also my belief that Pfizer is the main suitor for Nestragel and originally contacted Antares for it I believe this because the undisclosed deal with Pfizer appears to be for an insignificant product that Pfizer according to Wotton s comments in the investor conference had this product in their inventory for some time This indicates to me that Pfizer did not originally contact Antares for this undisclosed over the counter product that was shelved away in Pfizer s inventory Why would Pfizer seek out Antares for a small over the counter product that has been sitting on the shelf for some time Antares and Pfizer were talking about something else in my opinion and I believe that something else was Nestragel I also believe Pfizer may have interest in acquiring Antares at some point and this undisclosed deal is a kind of feeler Pfizer has laid out When I consider this along with the new hiring of Jack Howarth I start to sniff out a possible buy out offer coming Taking a look at Howarth s employment history shows a clear pattern to me Oct 2007 Alphapharma hires Howarth VP of Investor RelationsNov 2008 King acquires AlphapharmaJune 2009 King hires Howarth VP of Investor RelationsOct 2010 Pfizer acquires KingFeb 2011 Antares hires Howarth VP of Investor RelationsHowarth was hired by Antares at the same time it made a deal with Pfizer for the undisclosed product I mentioned above coincidence or something more I do not believe the Howarth hire is a coincidence when factoring in what I mentioned above A shorter term cup and handle formation occurred beginning in January then a continuation of a symmetrical triangle We can see the confirmation of this as the stock had a decent break out occur after the handle was confirmed as I crudely mark above in black I made a mark on where I feel is a key MACD point from January in conjunction with the beginning of the last cup and handle and make the same mark on the MACD at the end of March I see the beginning of the same cup and handle and continuation of a symmetrical triangle forming again The recent pull back in the pps I feel has been in conjunction with the recent overall market correction that I feel is near or finished with its correction I strongly encourage fund managers reading this article to do hard due diligence on all of the factors I mention herein I consider Antares to be the best long term small cap investment around because the risk is very low for a small cap and the reward very high Again I want to point out because the company carries less risk do not expect an explosive move upwards overnight However a deal for Nestragel would likely double the stock price overnight if the deal is a major one I also wrote an article for Seeking Alpha the mentions The recent FDA directive received from The Obama Administration I feel what I wrote about in that article is a major factor that should help Antares be in a good position to capitalize on the article can be found I bought Antares because I believe in the long term prospects fundamentals and management of this company I believe once any savvy investor does the deeper DD on Antares they will agree with me and buy and hold it for the long term I have written other articles on Antares for your consideration Article about Nestragel Female gel contraceptive is Article about Teva and AIS is Another article is Key points of interest Management growth plan on target I am expecting Q1 2012 earnings to be Antares first profitable quarter ever I estimate 2 to 4 cents a share profit The company has no debt and around 32 million in cash and investment Antares has strong insider and institutional ownership For a stock that has not been over 5 a share since 1999 40 institutional ownership is very unusual See my article on these two potential pps drivers Potential negatives Lack of market acceptance for VIBEX MTX Over all weak stock market means risk off trading and safer investments namely Treasuries A buy out offer accepted that is too low per the potential market value of The Antares product line Management changes course and gets too aggressive too quickly While I certainly do not feel any of the negatives above will occur with Antares they are always possible to occur as we are dealing in factors that are never certain Good things come to those who wait or so we are told Antares Pharma is definitely a good thing and buying it around its current price range now will yield a huge long term reward in my strong opinion As of 4 10 12 Antares sells for 2 98 a share If the company is not acquired I believe the stock price on 4 10 15 will be north of 20 00 a share Disclosure I am long Additional disclosure DISCLAIMER This article is intended for informational and entertainment use only and should not be construed as professional investment advice but rather my opinions as a writer only Always do you own complete due diligence before buying and selling any stock

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Smart Investors Need to Dump This

As Warren Buffett George Soros and so many others have said you need to swim against the tide finding values where others miss and shunning stocks that are loved by all Back in the summer of 2010 agriculture firm Monsanto NYSE was simply loathed Low cost Chinese competitors were eating into its Round Up herbicide franchise farmers were up in arms over a restrictive seed usage policy which made its way to a story on 60 Minutes the company was headed for a 10 drop in annual sales and analysts were uniformly tepid on the stock s prospects As I noted back then Monsanto s 1 billion in annual research and development spending would soon make the company relevant once again Indeed in the subsequent fiscal year ended August 2011 Monsanto s sales rose 13 to 11 8 billion and earnings per share EPS shot up a heady 49 to 2 96 Yet as you dig into just released quarterly results and start to look at where Monsanto may be headed next you may find reasons to sell The stock s impressive rebound has set up a clear disconnect between a fairly high valuation and slowing growth That s what happened to major drug stocks a decade ago and may be happening to Monsanto soon Another good quarter Monsanto just announced fiscal second quarter results that once again topped forecasts this time with an of 2 28 roughly 7 ahead of projections Almost all of the upside was attributed to stronger than expected demand for corn seeds as farmers got an early start thanks to very balmy weather this winter Some of that strength may also extend into the current quarter as spring plantings are underway but many analysts decided to leave their full year forecasts intact The pull in for the planting season is expected draw demand from the summer quarter Despite beating second quarter estimates by 0 16 analysts have boosted their fiscal August 2012 full year estimates by just three cents to 3 54 It s the view beyond 2012 that becomes more concerning The company is now so large and the field so saturated that unless Monsanto can take market share from Syngenta NYSE DuPont s NYSE Pioneer Hi Bred division or other emerging global rivals then investors need to brace for slowing growth The company has likely squeezed out all it can from the ethanol play ethanol as a fuel mandates which led to major corn planting are set to expire in coming years After a good 20 growth in fiscal 2012 analysts at UBS which rates the stock as a neutral recently wrote that we expect only 13 growth in F13 then we expect less than 10 growth in F14 It s important to note that after a strong two year run shares of Monsanto now trade for more than 20 times forward earnings Recall that major drug companies finally stopped growing as their drug pipelines matured and new drugs failed to outpace older drugs that lost patent protection Will that multiple compress as UBS suggests until Monsanto looks more like Merck NYSE or Pfizer NYSE With the exception of 2009 and 2010 when Merck completed a pair of large acquisitions sales have not grown more than 5 at any point in the last decade EPS in 2011 was roughly 30 lower than it was a decade ago As a result Merck s stock started to garner an ever lower price to earnings P E ratio There s one clear connection between Monsanto and Merck Each once spoke of a blockbuster product or two that could fuel tremendous growth but each eventually has come to rely on a series of smaller hits to keep that ball rolling As UBS Andrew Cash recently noted Monsanto s CEO is increasingly spending more time discussing its multiple sources of future earnings including integrated farming systems and almost no time on new blockbuster product introductions We believe this is code for slowing overall EPS You can see that slowing growth by walking through updated projections provided by Merrill Lynch After boosting EBITDA 22 to 3 05 billion in 2011 they see EBITDA rising 19 this year 11 in fiscal 2013 and 5 in fiscal 2014 When neutral is a sell Here s the tricky thing Nobody on Wall Street will tell you this stock is going to go down Indeed this is a stock that has made bullish analysts look smart in front of their clients and they need a reason to keep getting in front of those clients if they are to secure a meeting at all Sadly that s what more than 10 years of working on Wall Street taught me UBS in laying out its concerns only has a neutral rating lest the firm s analysts end up in the doghouse with Monsanto s management Goldman Sachs also recently lost its appetite for this stock removing it from the firm s Conviction List But they still suggest the stock deserves to trade at 20 times projected fiscal 2013 EPS of 4 38 Yet as noted earlier slowing growth more likely argues for a slowly falling multiple Monsanto s projected rates of growth are unlikely to support an EPS and thus a P E ratio that high Risks to Consider Monsanto still spends huge sums on R D and those efforts may still yield another blockbuster product to bolster future sales Action to Take Note the phrase slowly falling multiple There s no reason to expect this stock to fall out of bed quickly but it appears to have peaked after a solid two year run A high multiple and slowing growth is never the recipe for further upside By David Sterman

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PSivida Small Cap BioTech Positioned For Long Term Growth

The following small cap company I find very interesting for a long term speculative buy I actually have been able to ask the CEO of the company some questions that is part of my standard due diligence for me to make a determination whether a small cap company is worth writing about and or investing in Later on in this article you will find a question and answer session between me and The CEO Dr Paul Ashton pSivida PSDV develops drug delivery products for treatment of back of the eye diseases that are administered by implantation injection or insertion The company s lead product candidate includes Iluvien licensed to Alimera Sciences ALIM Iluvien is an drug that is inserted into the back of the eye that delivers fluocinolone acetonide FA for the treatment of diabetic macular edema DME a cause of vision loss Alimera received its second CRL for the drug in November 2011 so Iluvien is not approved in the US It is uncertain whether Alimera will pursue the clinical trials that the FDA would require for resubmission However Iluvien has been deemed approvable by the seven European countries where Alimera submitted its applications Individual approvals are expected to be received in the coming months and will enable Alimera to commence marketing of Iluvien Alimera is also conducting Phase II clinical trials with Ilu for the treatment of wet and dry form of age related macular degeneration and retinal vein occlusion These trials fall under the license agreement that pSivida has with Alimera pSivida s already FDA approved products include Retisert for the treatment of posterior uveitis an autoimmune condition characterized by inflammation of the posterior of the eye that can cause sudden or gradual vision loss and Vitrasert for cytomegalovirus retinitis a blinding eye disease that occurs in individuals with advanced AIDS Both of these are licensed to Bausch Lomb It is developing a Latanoprost product an injectable bioerodible drug delivery implant in Phase I II dose escalating study for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension a Posterior Uveitis product candidate expected to start pivotal clinical trials shortly its BioSilicon technology system which is nano structured porous silicon designed for use as a drug delivery platform and can deliver smaller molecules and Tethadur which utilizes BioSilicon to deliver biologic molecules including peptides and proteins It has strategic collaborations with Bausch Lomb Incorporated Alimera Sciences and Pfizer PFE PSDV s lead implant treatment is ILUVIEN which is licensed to Alimera The deal with Alimera in terms of outside The United States includes 20 net profits on a country by country basis and pSivida has full audit rights If Alimera decides to partner out the European commercialization then PSDV is entitled to 33 percent of any upfront and or milestone payments and 20 percent of whatever Alimera gets in royalties I wrote an that covered the EU approval catalyst that was supposed to occur at the end of Q2 2012 However Alimera has now reported a delay in this process and does not expect approval to be gained to at least until later Q3 This certainly helped to throw off my projected short term price target opinion for Alimera It seems to me PSDV may have more to gain from the European approval PSDV might get the bigger stock price percentage gain on the European approval news than Alimera may receive As referenced in my Alimera article the FDA rejected ILUVIEN on its first attempt to gain approval and issued a complete response letter CRL to Alimera After further research into PSDV I have discovered that ILUVIEN is the not the product to be most optimistic about that PSDV is offering Tethadur could be the company s most valuable technology according to Dr Paul Ashton with its potential to deliver proteins peptides and other small molecules particularly interesting for biosimilars and biobetters Small molecule based procedures are more cost effective thancostlier biologic methods pSivida s Tethadur Technology is a platform drug delivery system that relies on nanostructuring to achieve optimal drug delivery It can be used alone or in combination with pSivida s other technologies Tethadur has Ability to provide long term delivery of anti bodies and other proteinsHigh efficiency capacity of drug loadingControlled nanostructuring can vary nanosized pores to accommodate different molecule sizesFully bioerodible over range of time periodsUnlike most polymer based drug delivery systems the manufacture of Tethadur does not require complex chemistry and the final product is pure silicon irrespective of the delivery characteristics imparted by the nanostructuring process Tethadur distinguishes itself from other delivery systems by its heat and radiation stability simplifying the manufacturing and sterilization process pSivida is the kind of small cap bio I look for grossly undervalued based on its technology platform and competent management The current management team eliminated 20 million in toxic debt inherited from the Australian management predecessors I stress this over and over The most important factor on success and or failure of a small cap company is its management s ability to execute Hype aside good products mean nothing if management cannot execute correct business practices Money management deal making position leverage communication with insurance companies and other factors can and will determine a great deal of the company s success or lack thereof I have given the prior example of Dendreon s DNDN Provenge an effective treatment for prostrate cancer yet insurance companies were not in an effective loop to fully understand the cost of the drug Dendreon stock went on a wild ride all over the place from 5 a share all the way up to 57 a share only to fall back below 8 mainly because of management s lack of proper communication Most unfortunate because Dendreon posesses great technology to make a real difference in the lives of many patients not only suffering from prostate cancer but other forms of cancer as well It does appear that Dendreon management has gotten its act together lately but the damage was already done Should pSivida be selling for a price of around 2 a share currently Let s take a look at its deep pipeline of treatments and find out With a market cap of 40 56M pSivida is one of the most undervalued companies I have ever seen Nothwithstanding the Alimera partnership and its potential partnership with Pfizer values the company at least an 80M market cap in my strong opinion The following sums up the Pfizer agreement In terms of the Pfizer agreement at the moment Pfizer has no commitment to pSivida other than working with pSivida in terms of the phase I II trials using the latanaprost in the insert At the end of the Phase II trial Pfizer has an option to pick up the product If Pfizer exercises that option then they would pay pSivida 20 million and Pfizer would take the product through Phase 3 and there would be performance milestone payments and a double digit royalty rate over 10 Pfizer would then own the product If Pfizer decides not to exercise its option pSivida retains the right to develop and commercialize the glaucoma product on its own or with a partner pSivida would also have royalty free use of latanaprost Pfizer s billion dollar drug that went off patent last year as well Dr Paul Ashton CEO of pSivida has a very solid resume of leadership as noted from his bio referenced from Dr Ashton was named pSivida s President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2009 and previously served as the company s Managing Director from January 2007 to January 2009 and Executive Director of Strategy from December 2005 to January 2007 From 1996 until its acquisition by pSivida in December 2005 Dr Ashton was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Control Delivery Systems Inc CDS a drug delivery company that he co founded in 1991 and that developed pSivida s Durasert technology system Dr Ashton previously was a joint faculty member in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Surgery at the University of Kentucky served on the faculty of Tufts University and worked as a pharmaceutical scientist at Hoffman La Roche Dr Ashton s long history of leadership and strategic oversight of pSivida and CDS his role in developing and extensive knowledge of pSivida s core technology platforms products and product candidates his scientific expertise including his PhD in pharmacology and strong knowledge of research and development uniquely position him to lead pSivida in the execution of its long term strategy The following below is a question and answer session with Dr Paul Ashton I asked the standard questions I normally do when I am considering making an investment in a small cap growth company Scott Hello Dr Ashton thank you for taking the time to answer my questions for Seeking Alpha readers Dr Ashton You are welcome Scott 1 Where do you feel the true value in your company is where Investors should focus on 2 I notice you have established a nice royalty base do you plan to use this revenue to reinvest into the future of the company 3 What do you find is the toughest challenge for a small company like yours to overcome 4 While we know predicting the future is hard and many factors are uncertain but where would you like to see the company in say 5 years from now What is the mission goal of the company in that time frame 5 Do you feel your company has what it takes to eventually market your top line products on your own is that your ultimate goal using royalty revenue to eventually attempt to become a top line company Dr Ashton s answers below in sequential order 1 I think there is a lot of focus on Iluvien for Diabetic macular edema and appropriately so however people may be overlooking the real upside 1a Our program in posterior uveitis 3rd largest cause of blindness in the US In uveitis we are planning to develop an injectable implant delivering the steroid Fluocinolone acetonide This is the exact same implant already successfully reviewed by the EU regulators for DME but rejected by the FDA Why are we so confident This insert delivers the exact same drug as Retisert already approved by the FDA the new inserts are injectable while Retisert is surgically inserted and the side effect profile of the new inserts is significantly better than that of Retisert Also we can develop this product ourselves Also based on our discussions with the FDA we believe we can proceed directly to phase iii clinical trials with these devices referencing all the data from the DME application a BIG time money saver 1b The glaucoma program hasn t received any attention This is another low risk high reward opportunity We are using a bio erodible version of the Durasert technology that underlies the Iluvien device to deliver latanoprost Pfizer s billion dollar glaucoma drug until the patent expired So it s an effective drug with a proven delivery system going after a very large market opportunity It s in early clinical trials but as clinical data emerges I think it will get more attention 1c It s becoming increasingly apparent see Alcon s ACL recent failure of a topical drug for geographic atrophy a form of dry AMD Allergan s AGN failure of an oral for glaucoma that a drug delivery system is needed to treat back of the eye diseases We are the only company with a proven back of the eye delivery technology Dr Ashton Sorry that s a long answer but we have a lot going on Scott Understandable I think as much detail as possible for investors to consider is a good thing 2 Yes historically we have used our royalties and cash from license fees etc to minimize our cash burn 3 One of the biggest challenges we have is getting on the radar screen of investors We have a couple of approved products earning royalties a product pending marketing authorization in EU we expect to have phase 3 ready product for uveitis very shortly and a glaucoma product already in the clinic That seems pretty compelling to me certainly better than many companies with a much higher market cap I ve been told many times if your market cap was higher you would be worth more 4 We are planning to evolve into a specialty pharma focused on ophthalmology We plan to develop some of our own products like for uveitis and work with partners to develop others Dr Ashton We plan to out license non ophthalmic applications of our technologies 5 We have the best technology and we are fortunate in that we are going after a new area diseases of the back of the eye where none of the big guys has a dominant position in the market Also the back of the eye space can be addressed with a small sales force there are only 1 500 retina specialists in the US However this space now has the attention of a lot of the big players Merck MRK Roche RHHBY PK Glaxo Smith Kline GSK etc and there is a lot of consolidation so I d imagine that we d likely be acquired before we get there We are not planning this but it seems to be the way things sometimes work Scott Thank you Dr Ashton for taking the time to answer my questions Dr Ashton You are welcome Scott We can see from the chart above the massive move down when the FDA issued a CRL to Alimera concerning ILUVIEN Using crude black lines I show where the stock channel connects up There was a catalyst run up concerning the EU approval of ILUVIEN but that was delayed for another quarter and the stock sold off in March Another gap up occured and has since been filled Now it appears a tighter wedge is forming indicating to me a move to near 2 50 is coming very soon We see high lowers and lower highs representing the tighter wedge The MACD has been somewhat flat but the signal appears to be turning up To me this seems stock holders are not willing to part with their shares at the current stock price level Key points in my opinion why pSivida has a legit shot to become a larger cap company over time Very low cash burn rate about two million a Quarter The company tries to have agreements evaluation agreements and license agreements basically cover their costs on their programs Nice capital structure only about 20 million shares outstanding with an additional 5 million warrants and those are going down as groups of them expire No debt Cash that takes them with present programs through 2013 Opthalmology is a big area of interest as the population ages take into account the success of Lucentis which was developed by Genentech and is marketed in the United States by Genentech and elsewhere by Novartis NVS Also Regeneron s REGN eElea is having great success Technologies that while obviously are for opthalmology now are adaptable for other parts of the body there is currently an evaluation agreement with the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC for example and their focus is orthopaedics The uveitis program and the bioerodible version of the underlying technology of Iluvien for glaucoma with Pfizer Pfizer is the second largest shareholder with about eight percent and have held the shares since 2007 Since Pfizer already owns around 7 of the company s stock pSivida is an acquisition target for them in my opinion How strong of an acquisition target I really do not know Final opinion and price target opinions I see a short term move to near 2 50 setting up as the overall market appears to corrected itself and the overall macro economic condition appears to have become more stable at least in the short term This should translate into more of a risk on trade appearing in the market again I also see a catalyst run up occurring as Alimera gets closer to EU approval for ILUVIEN I am not sure when this will begin or if it has already begun A move to 5 a share by the end of the year is not out of the question Where the price goes from there will be dependent on many factors including what Pfizer decides to do with its arrangement with pSivida I like the CEO here as his team wiped off all the toxic financing the prior management left for them Dr Ashton is straight forward and to the point Again having top management in a small cap company is the number one key in determining future success of the company It is my opinion pSivida is a strong long term buy and hold for investors who wish to be patient and wait for large long term gains Disclosure I have no positions in any stocks mentioned and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours DISCLAIMER This article is intended for informational and entertainment use only and should not be construed as professional investment advice but rather my opinions as a writer only Always do you own complete due diligence before buying and selling any stock

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Trump AT T CEO discussed jobs not Time Warner deal Trump spokesman

WASHINGTON Reuters U S President elect Donald Trump s meeting with AT T Inc s N T chief executive this week focused on job creation and government regulations not the company s planned merger with Time Warner Inc N TWX Trump spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Friday Trump and AT T s Randall Stephenson met at Trump Tower on Thursday amid the pending merger which Trump has said he opposes The company also has said the deal was not discussed

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Packers win thriller vs Cowboys to reach NFC title game

The Sports Xchange Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was left with a few seconds and one shot at winning it and that was enough as Green Bay s 51 yard field goal at the gun gave them a 34 31 playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Rodgers the NFL s hottest quarterback put Green Bay in position to advance to the NFC Championship and kicker Mason Crosby did the rest to launch a Packers celebration at AT T NYSE T Stadium The Packers moved on to face the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday with a spot in the Super Bowl at stake The final tally came in improbable fashion after the Cowboys tied the game with 44 seconds left On third down with 12 seconds remaining Rodgers dialed up some familiar magic Scrambling to his left he rifled a 35 yard completion to tight end Jared Cook who dragged his toes in bounds at the 33 yard line with three seconds on the clock Mason followed with a game winner just inside the left upright after his first attempt right down the middle was waived off after the Cowboys called a timeout just before the snap Rodgers finished 28 of 43 for 356 yards and two touchdowns with an interception Cook caught six passes for 104 yards and a score Ty Montgomery also had six receptions and scored on two short runs The Cowboys season ends after earning the No 1 seed in the NFC and an off week for the first round of the playoffs The Dallas stars came to play especially their outstanding rookies quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott Prescott completed 24 of 38 for 302 yards three scores and a pick Elliott rushed 22 times for 125 yards Dez Bryant had nine catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns The Cowboys rallied from an 18 point second quarter deficit and were on the verge of overtime after Dan Bailey s 52 yard field goal in the final minute But Rodgers proved too much continuing a run of incredible performances that began in late November and has carried Green Bay to eight straight wins After a big first half the Packers didn t skip a beat in opening the third quarter with a touchdown Rodgers led his team 75 yards in just six plays ending with the 3 yard toss to Cook The Cowboys needed an answer and were driving for another score before the momentum swung back to the visitors With a second and 1 at the Green Bay 19 Prescott threw a quick slant that was jumped by Green Bay safety Micah Hyde The game s first turnover could have been disastrous for Dallas but the Packers gave the ball right back Free safety Jeff Heath picked off Rodgers his first interception since Nov 13 deep in Dallas territory Prescott calmly directed a scoring march that ended with a 6 yard pass to Jason Witten and trimmed Green Bay s lead to 28 20 early in the fourth The Cowboys weren t done After a rare stop of Rodgers and the Packers Dallas put together a clutch game tying possession Prescott not only found Bryant on a 7 yard touchdown on third down the rookie signal called bulled his way over the goal line for the 2 point conversion Green Bay went into halftime up 21 13 behind 191 yards passing from Rodgers The Cowboys took the opening kickoff and went 43 yards before Dan Bailey nailed a 50 yard field goal Green Bay answered with three consecutive touchdown drives covering 75 90 and 80 yards respectively to open up a 21 3 lead midway through the second quarter Prescott got Dallas into the end zone for the first time by hooking up with Bryant Consecutive long completions to Bryant the latter covering 40 yards for a touchdown helped breathe life back into the Cowboys Bailey s 33 field goal late in the second quarter left Dallas down eight points going into the locker room

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Packers win an unbelievable effort says QB Rogers

Reuters Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers the MVP of Green Bay s Super Bowl triumph six years ago was left almost speechless after his team s nailbiting 34 31 win over the Dallas Cowboys in a divisional playoff showdown on Sunday After squandering an 18 point lead they established during the second quarter the Packers held off a thrilling Cowboys comeback with successive field goals by Mason Crosby the last of which was set up by another bit of playoff magic by Rodgers Rodgers taking over the ball with 44 seconds left and the score 31 31 connected on a stunning 35 yard completion to tight end Jared Cook who nimbly tip toed inbounds with just three seconds left on the clock Crosby then delivered for the final time kicking the game winner from 51 yards just inside the left upright after his first attempt had been waived off as Dallas called time out right before the snap Unbelievable effort What a game what a game Rogers told Fox Sports having briefly paused to gather his thoughts after the frenetic end to a playoff classic at AT T NYSE T Stadium Jared just kept on coming and I tried to put it in a good spot and he made a hell of a catch And then Mason Mason kicked twice Unbelievable It s a different energy with this team the guys are very hungry there s a stronger belief Rodgers said This one is special more special than we ve had in a while Next Sunday the Packers will take on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game to decide which team reaches the Super Bowl but for the moment Rogers wanted to savor the victory We re just going to enjoy this game the six time Pro Bowl selection said after completing 28 of 43 passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns with an interception We are going to celebrate this then we are going to move on to Atlanta Packers head coach Mike McCarthy applauded the sheer grit shown by his team I can t say enough about my football team s resiliency McCarthy told reporters Obviously a fantastic finish The execution there the throw by Aaron and the catch by Jared Cook and Mason Crosby being able to knock it through twice a pretty good insight into who we are as a football team

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Leonard Aldridge propel Spurs past Timberwolves

The Sports Xchange Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 29 as the San Antonio Spurs shrugged off a ragged first three quarters and rolled to a 122 114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at the AT T NYSE T Center Leonard s rebound and rush down the court for a dunk over two Minnesota defenders with 7 36 to play highlighted a 20 2 run for San Antonio that turned a 90 83 deficit into a 103 92 lead Leonard has 12 games of 30 or more points this season and has reached that mark in four consecutive contests He s the first San Antonio player to score 30 plus points in four straight contests since Tim Duncan in January 2004 Tony Parker added 14 points for San Antonio 32 9 and Patty Mills had 11 points The Spurs bench outscored Minnesota s reserves 37 21 Karl Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves 14 28 with 27 points and 16 rebounds while Ricky Rubio added 21 points and 14 assists Zach LaVine had 18 points Gorgui Dieng scored 17 Shabazz Muhammad poured in 15 and Andrew Wiggins hit for 10 Minnesota utilized only eight players in the game and six of them scored in double figures The first quarter was back and forth between the two teams featured 11 lead changes and ended tied at 30 The Timberwolves opened up a 51 44 lead on a Towns putback layup at the 6 15 mark of the second quarter and Minnesota kept its lead through the rest of the session The 71 points scored by the Timberwolves in the first half were the second most surrendered by San Antonio this season and were just 16 points less that Minnesota scored the entire game in its last contest a 98 87 loss to Dallas Towns led Minnesota with 17 points in the half while Rubio had 16 going 10 of 10 from the free throw line and Muhammad hit for 15 The Timberwolves shot 55 9 percent from the floor and took 30 free throws making 29 in the first two periods Leonard paced the Spurs with 17 points and Aldridge had 15 San Antonio had just two turnovers in the first half and shot 56 1 percent on its field goals The Timberwolves ran their lead to as much as eight points in the third quarter and looked to be in a comfortable spot after Towns 3 pointer at the 1 40 mark had Minnesota up 90 83 But the Spurs woke up in a major way scoring the final nine points of the quarter including a 4 point play by Leonard with 38 6 seconds to play that pushed San Antonio on top at 92 90 heading into the fourth quarter A driving layup by David Lee gave the Spurs a 94 90 lead with 10 50 to play in regulation their biggest of the game up to that point and San Antonio just wore down the Timberwolves for the rest of the game

PFE

Cheap Is Not Always Good And Stocks As Sweaters

Cheap Is Not Always GoodThere are many investors who hold low P E ratios as sacrosanct To them any stock with a high P E ratio is off limits While some stock certainly are overvalued like Netflix at 300 or Green Mountain at 100 many stocks with high P E ratios deserve them Alexion Pharmaceuticals sports a P E ratio of 80 while Pfizer the king of the pharmaceutical industry sports a P E ratio of just under 16 Yet over the past 5 years Pfizer stock has not simply stagnated it has dropped by over 22 all while Alexion rose by over 466 Investors who pounded the table saying Pfizer was cheap rode it all the way down to 20 While it is true that some stocks are simply too cheap such as Apple or EMC investors must always ask WHY a stock has a low P E ratio Often there is a reason for that Microsoft is cheap not because it is ignored by Wall Street but because after close scrutiny Wall Street did not like what it saw There is so much more to investing than P E ratios That is merely one piece of the puzzle And investors would do well to remember that cheap and expensive are simply matters of opinion To truly gauge a company s suitability as an investment one must always look beneath the surface and closely examine the company s future prospects Sentiment as a Contrarian IndicatorHistory has shown us that some of the most profitable investments are those made with a contrarian outlook No one thought Apple would survive past 1997 but investors that ought in at that time doubled their money again and again Buying financial stocks in March 2009 was a wonderful investment Buffet s avoiding of dot com stocks was a great way to avoid losses Sentiment is a great indicator of where a stock could go but in the opposite direction There s a rule in investing that says when retail investors pull huge sums of money out that is the time to get in Just as when retail investors are pouring money into the market it is time to get out When sentiment in any one company turns extreme we think it is time to go against the grain A prime example of this is Netflix For years sentiment was extremely bullish on Netflix and investors made huge sums of money on the stock And if you got out in time you made large sums of money too But now the sentiment surrounding Netflix is exactly the opposite Everyone is predicting doom for the company We see that as a contrarian buy signal as long as you believe the company will survive The bulls have had their success with Netflix So have the bears Now we believe it is time for the bulls to be in the drivers seat once again Stocks as SweatersFor all the complexities in the stock market sometimes simple analogies can provide us with clarification Investors would do well to think of stocks as sweaters You wouldn t buy a sweater if it was too expensive right If the quality matched the price then perhaps you would That is the case with companies such as Chipotle or lululemon They may be expensive but these sweaters are worth it Then there are sweaters you want to buy but they re simply too expensive Companies like Alexion or salesforce may be good but the sweaters are simply not worth the price Then there are sweaters that have gotten too cheap to ignore Companies like Akamai Akamai used to be overpriced but now it is simply undervalued pricing in a doomsday scenario However some sweaters should be avoided no matter how far in the clearance aisle they are in Companies like RIM and Microsoft may be cheap but they are cheap for a reason You don t want to be seen wearing rags do you Just as you don t want to be seen as getting ripped off buying some overpriced sweater But if its a luxurious sweater than you will be the talk of the town The lesson is know your price know the most that you are willing to pay for a stock and know when to hand that sweater off to someone else

PFE

PROLOR Biotech A Top Takeover Candidate

Billionaire Phillip Frost is an esteemed entrepreneur and philanthropist who built his fortune from pharmaceuticals His success in the field in my view is unrivaled his story a classic Fortunately for investors Frost is still active in healthcare companies He currently chairs PROLOR Biotech an emerging biopharmaceutical firm that is trading significantly below intrinsic value with favorable risk reward as evidenced by comparable past buyout multiples PROLOR is engaged in the biosimilars and biobetters space developing new forms of perviously approved biologic therapeutics Since products are not coming from scratch valuing a business like PROLOR is much less speculative than it is for other biotech companies At the same time the firm s products have relatively minimal time to commercialization since clinical trials use short term biological parameter readouts and are not dependent on primary endpoints from outcome measures The company employs Carboxyl Terminal Peptide CTP technology to develop new forms of previously approved biologic therapeutics CTP a small peptide that is naturally found in hCG is attached to other proteins to significantly increase longevity with minimal risk Further limiting downside this technology is being leveraged for diverse solutions thus providing the kind of safety and breadth that is heavily demanded by large biopharmaceutical companies In particular I see Merck Co MRK and Pfizer PFE as possible suitors Merck for example has licenses for 4 fertility focused proteins while PROLOR has licenses for all other human therapeutics of natural or non natural sequence Pfizer on the other hand has a weak pipeline among pharmaceuticals and buying out PROLOR would yield substantial revenues synergies by opening the target s products to sizable patient populations Perhaps one of the most important factors to consider when investing in biotechnology is market potential and diversity in the portfolio A winner in both concerns PROLOR has major developments in hemophilia weight loss multiple sclerosis and human growth hormone Accordingly the firm has a very strong buy rating on the Street and Morgan Joseph places the price target at 16 representing a 280 premium Consider for example that PROLOR is developing the first FDA approved long acting hGH hGH CTP has a market potential of 3B annually and has already indicated safety advantages and strong efficacy Phase II clinical trials indicated that hGH CTP could produce results with much fewer injections than what is currently marketed ie weekly possibly even twice monthly versus daily Patients in all three cohorts showed average IGF 1 levels returning to normal range on all of the days when there was an assessment In addition hGH CTP has indicated a very strong pharmacokinetic profile which contributes to safety and ease in dosing Having aggressively secured patents around everything from the composition of hGH CTP to production and manufacturing PROLOR has the solid IP protection that will be attractive to a larger biopharmaceutical company weary about risk The hGH CTP program is scheduled to enter Phase III trials in 2012 Now consider that Roche earlier acquired Marcadia Biotech for 287M upfront in cash and 250M more if the target s diabetes drugs meet certain milestones PROLOR is trading at nearly a quarter of this potential value while offering a substitute long acting oxyntomulin MOD 6030 in addition to a variety of high growth versions of therapeutic proteins Factor VIIa CTP and Factor IX CTP for example have a cumulative potential market of 2B growing 14 annually These hemophilia solutions have already indicated superior longer acting and clotting activity in preclinical trills The market has yet to fully rationalize such a favorable context In conclusion I find myself in agreement with the Street that the company represents a very attractive value play While solid IP protection and a diverse biosimilar biobetter market provide meaningful safety undervaluation of the parts compared to past buyouts provide significant upside 2012 is likely to be a favorable inflection point for PROLOR and opening a long position is recommended sooner rather than later Disclosure I may open a long position in PBTH Writing is paid but research is independent All views expressed herein are my own

PFE

2 Defensive Dividend Stocks Outperforming The SP

Looking to play defense in the market As the market has vacillated between up and down months since July income investors are seeking dividend paying stocks with less correlation i e dividend stocks which are defensive during pullbacks but still share in rallies It has become more challenging to find such an animal but they are out there However defensive stocks aren t always the best stocks to buy for growth These two giant Healthcare dividend stocks Lilly and Pfizer have both outperformed the S P in 2011 in both up and down markets Performance wise LLY and PFE flip flopped in the Sept and Nov pullbacks and the Oct rally Lilly just got a nice boost recently after an analyst said that LLY s anti Alzheimer drug could double the share price if proven to be effective which he thought it had a 10 20 chance of Dividends Financials Lilly metrics outshine Pfizer s and also its Big Pharma peers Options The put and call options trades listed in this article expire in April for LLY and March for PFE Covered Calls Although Lilly and Pfizer s don t have high option yields when compared to other stocks we ve covered recently such as CAT or CMI both of the options trading strategies listed here give you a chance to significantly improve upon these stocks dividend yields over this 4 5 month period Cash Secured Puts LLY s put options offer more yield than PFE s Since PFE and LLY have made 17 to 20 plus gains year to date selling cash secured puts below the current stock prices might be the most conservative approach you could take in potentially accumulating shares Note Put sellers don t receive dividends EPS Valuations Due to issues with patent expirations the future sales forecasts are sub par for LLY and nearly flat for PFE As we mentioned earlier though there s a trade off between growth and defense in these stocks Disclosure Author has no positions in LLY or PFE at the time of publication Disclaimer This article is written for informational purposes only and isn t intended as investment advice

PFE

PROLOR An Upside Story

PROLOR Biotech is one of the hottest stocks on the Street with significant upside limited downside and a well deserved strong buy rating from equity analysts According to Raghuram Selvaraju Ph D of Morgan Joseph 2012 should be a transformational year for PROLOR in our view with one Phase 3 project two Phase 2 candidates and one Phase 1 candidate all moving forward simultaneously PROLOR has solid liquidity with a current ratio of 9 5 and a net cash position of 17 6M which represents 7 6 of market value Add in innovative platform technologies relatively short and safe clinical trials a stellar pipeline multi billion dollar market potential and backing from the industry s most successful investor PROLOR is simply trading well below intrinsic value I find that based on industry standard numbers the hGH CTP and MOD 6030 blockbuster products alone indicate 420 upside for the emerging biotech company Let s review hGH CTPThis product will be the first FDA approved long acting version of human growth hormone and target a 3B market that is growing 7 annually In the Phase II study hGH CTP demonstrated a strong pharmacokinetic profile and that it could be injected just weekly to return patients average IGF 1 levels to normal range This is stunning in light of the backdrop that all of the available products require daily injection Pfizer PFE Eli Lilly Co LLY Roche RHHBY Merck Serono and Novo Nordisk NVO are behind in this development and in my view will inevitably and aggressively seek a partnership with PROLOR Thankfully the company has solid IP protection as it has secured hGH CTP with patents to everything from the product s composition to its manufacturing 2012 is likely to be an inflection point for PROLOR as Phase III begins DCF Analysis Considering the standard average for Phase III partnership deals is around 20 in royalties and assuming 35 penetration into the 3B market PROLOR s take is 200M for the immediate 12 months forward This will further compound 7 annually from market growth to say nothing about other business deals Discounting the stream of free cash flow backwards using the capital asset pricing model and accounting for risks yields a net present value of around 1B for hGH CTP This matches the valuation derived from assuming 5x sales too low if anything considering the growth potential Put differently the hGH CTP product warrants PROLOR being worth at least 18 50 per share MOD 6030This diabetes type II drug is a long acting version of oxyntomodulin and similarly would be heavily demanded in a buyout According to the American Diabetes Association 8 3 of individuals in the United States have diabetes The World Health Organization estimates that 346M people worldwide are affected more than 5 of the population Having demonstrated superiority to oxyntomodulin in weight loss and reduction of food intake MOD 6030 is yet another under appreciated asset of the rising biotech firm Analysis One can only assume that if a drug has better efficacy and safety than its analogues it is only fair that it be worth more Two improvements on oxyntomodulin have had deals that indicate the undervaluation of MOD 6030 In 2010 Roche acquired Marcadia Biotech for an implied value of 537M in order to gain rights to the lead compound preclinical GLP 1 Glucagon dual receptor agonist Then in 2011 Zealand Pharma reached an agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim over another preclinical version of oxyntomodulin This deal was worth 57M in payments for the first 2 years and 480M more in milestones Thus improved oxyntomodulin variants are priced at a minimum of 200M for preclinical versions Accordingly PROLOR s MOD 6030 is worth at least 3 70 per share Still more Based on just MOD 6030 and hGH CTP the stock should be valued at 22 20 significantly above the present market price But investors should consider PROLOR s other strengths Factor VIIa CTP and Factor IX CTP are two hemophilia treatments that target a market of 2B one that is compounding 14 annually Preclinical trials have already indicated superior length and clotting activity As hemophilia is an orphan disease these variants will offer premium pricing and smoothly transition to the market PROLOR also employs Carboxyl Terminal Peptide technology to develop biosimilars Merck has licenses for 4 fertility focused proteins while PROLOR has licenses for all other human therapeutics of natural or non natural sequence CTP technology is being leveraged in diverse applications and is heavily demanded by larger biopharmaceutical companies in need of pipeline innovation Investors should further be mindful about the limited risk that PROLOR offers Whereas novel drugs are often a hit or a miss biosimilars and biobetters face more certainty in terms of returns PROLOR operates in the latter universe which enables products to have minimal time to commercialization with clinical trials not being dependent on primary endpoints from outcome measures Finally in light of the favorable risk reward highlighted above it is important to stress that a lack of news flow and behavioral anomalies are the main reasons for the company s undervaluation It is only a matter of time in my view and those of other analysts before the fundamentals shift the stock price skyward to its rightful place In closing I would like to reiterate Morgan Joseph s comment in their November 29 2011 buy call which still holds true We advise investors to take advantage of recent weakness to aggressively accumulate shares Disclosure

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Aldridge leads Spurs past Pelicans

The Sports Xchange LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points in 26 minutes of play and Manu Ginobili added a season high 17 points off the bench as the San Antonio Spurs manhandled the New Orleans Pelicans 113 100 on Sunday at the AT T NYSE T Center winning their fourth straight game Kawhi Leonard added 13 points for San Antonio 22 5 while Tony Parker and Jonathan Simmons had 12 points and Patty Mills scored 11 points for the Spurs who have won 8 of 19 Pau Gasol pulled down a season high 14 rebounds in 24 minutes of play After the game the Spurs retired the No 21 jersey of former power forward Tim Duncan in a typically understated ceremony Duncan s 19 year career all with San Antonio featured five championships and a 1 072 438 regular season record The Spurs 710 winning percentage during Duncan s tenure was the best 19 year stretch in NBA history and was the best in all of the NBA NFL NHL and MLB over that time Alexis Ajinca led the Pelicans 9 20 with 16 points while Buddy Hield added 14 Anthony Davis and Langston Galloway scored 12 points each and Tim Frazier had 11 for New Orleans The Spurs outrebounded New Orleans 49 37 and went to the free throw line 22 times making 18 while the Pelicans were just 8 of 14 from the charity stripe Five points from Ginobili and a 3 pointer from Patty Mills in a 90 second span of the first quarter allowed the Spurs to turn a 19 18 deficit into a 26 19 lead at the 2 58 mark New Orleans responded with a spurt of its own tying the game at 26 before a Gasol jumper and a Leonard layup handed San Antonio a 30 26 advantage after 12 minutes The Pelicans owned a 44 42 lead at the 6 25 mark of the second quarter after a driving layup by Hield until San Antonio forged a 9 0 run capped by a 3 pointer by Danny Green to sweep past New Orleans and assume a 51 42 advantage The Spurs led 61 49 at the half Aldridge led all scorers with 16 points in the first half while Ginobili hit for 12 and Leonard added 11 Gasol had 12 rebounds in 18 minutes of play before halftime as the Spurs owned a 29 18 edge on the boards Davis and Ajinca led the Pelicans with 10 points each at intermission but Davis picked up his third foul with 1 07 to play in the second quarter New Orleans got back to within 72 62 on a Hield jumper at the 6 39 mark of the third quarter but then the Spurs kicked things into another gear again reeling off an 11 2 run that was highlighted by another Ginobili 3 pointer Three free throws by Mills with 14 4 seconds to play in the quarter pushed the San Antonio lead to 21 points 92 71 and allowed the Spurs to play mostly their reserves for the final quarter

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Dollar hits new 14 year high Dow sets sights on 20 000

By Marc Jones LONDON Reuters The dollar hit a 14 year high on Tuesday as the yen fell after the Bank of Japan stuck to its ultra loose monetary policy and the euro weakened following deadly attacks in Germany and Turkey On Wall Street the Dow appeared set for another run at 20 000 points DJI as concern after the attacks in Europe were offset FTEU3 by reassurance over Italy s plan to spend up to 20 billion euros 21 billion to rescue its troubled banks On currency markets a sense of caution after a truck plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin killing 12 sent the safe haven Swiss franc towards a six month high versus the euro EURCHF and pushed the common currency firmly back below 1 04 But the dollar DXY and rising bond yields US10YT RR again dominated after the head of the Federal Reserve flagged the strength of the U S jobs market in a speech to students on Monday That sent the greenback up almost half a percent against a basket of major currencies to 103 65 DXY its strongest since January 2003 FRX Its gains were strongest against the yen which slid around 1 percent after the Bank of Japan shrugging off the yen s recent slump said it would keep monetary policy loose The biggest impact you see from the attacks in Berlin and Ankara is the Swiss franc euro said Societe Generale PA SOGN FX strategist Alvin Tan But apart from that the dollar continues to be strong after we had some rather positive comments from Janet Yellen Benchmark 10 year U S government bond yields which set the bar for global borrowing costs and have been rising hand in hand with the dollar over the last few months were at 2 57 percent having earlier topped 2 58 percent US The greenback has risen 12 percent versus the yen since Donald Trump s surprise presidential election victory on his promises of increased fiscal stimulus The win was made official on Monday after he got the required Electoral College votes FUNDAMENTALS Modest 0 3 percent gains for European shares EU came after MSCI s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan MIAPJ0000PUS had ended down 0 3 percent due fifth straight day of losses for emerging markets stocks MSCIEF China s CSI 300 index slid 0 6 percent on Beijing s move to tighten supervision of shadow banking activities and on liquidity concerns while Japan s Nikkei N225 closed up 0 5 percent after a late BOJ linked rally T There was no particular surprise from the policy meeting but investors are happy that the economy s fundamentals are finally rising after the BOJ expressed an upbeat view said Takuya Takahashi a strategist at Daiwa Securities Wall Street was expected to nudge higher having tailed off slightly on Monday as risk aversion set in following the deaths in Germany the shooting dead of Russia s ambassador in Turkey and a gun attack in a mosque in Switzerland Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the attack in Berlin There is much we still do not know with sufficient certainty but we must as things stand now assume it was a terrorist attack The lira initially rallied on relief that Moscow and Ankara struck a unified tone after the Ankara attack but took a dive after the country s central bank unexpectedly kept interest rates on hold having been widely forecast to raise them The currency has lost 17 percent of its value against the dollar this year hit by investor concerns about a crackdown by authorities in the aftermath of a failed coup in July and by a resurgent dollar following Donald Trump s U S election win The rouble though was up at 61 6554 per dollar and safe haven gold XAU which rose 0 4 percent on Monday pulled back 0 7 percent to 1 130 an ounce as the prospect of further U S rate hikes outweighed political concerns Oil prices also rose as traders positioned for weekly U S crude oil inventories Analysts polled by Reuters expected them to show a draw of 2 4 million barrels in the week ending Dec 16 EIA S U S crude CLc1 was at 52 45 per barrel and global benchmark Brent LCOc1 rose to 55 50 after Russia s energy minister was also quoted saying the country may extend a production cut beyond the first half of next year if needed For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters realtime verb Open url

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Dak and Dez fire as Dallas deny Detroit

ARLINGTON Texas The Sports Xchange The Dallas Cowboys entered their final regular season home game with the NFC East title and home field advantage in the playoffs in their back pocket Even so Dallas showed no signs of slowing down as it raced past the Detroit Lions in the third quarter on the way to a 42 21 victory on Monday night at AT T NYSE T Stadium The Lions 9 6 were the team trying to lock up a playoff berth but they couldn t keep up after halftime with Dallas 13 2 which had all of its stars on display Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott passed for 212 yards and three touchdowns Wide receiver Dez Bryant caught a pair of TD passes and threw another and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 80 yards and two scores on 12 carries The only sign that Dallas might have let its hair down a bit with the NFC East title in hand came in the third quarter when Bryant threw a 10 yard touchdown pass to tight end Jason Witten On first and goal from the Detroit 10 Bryant took a pitch going to his left on a reverse and appeared headed upfield But just before Bryant reached the line of scrimmage he tossed to a wide open Witten in the end zone for the score The Bryant to Witten connection put an exclamation point on the Cowboys domination of the third quarter After going to halftime tied at 21 Dallas won the third 14 0 by moving the ball efficiently and shutting down the Lions offense Cowboys safety J J Wilcox ended Detroit s second half opening possession by intercepting Matthew Stafford at the Lions 46 yard line Dallas stopped Detroit s second series of the third quarter at the Lions 36 and Detroit kicker Matt Prater missed a 47 yard field goal on the Lions third and final offensive series of the period The Cowboys responded to Prater s miss by driving 63 yards in seven plays Prescott hit Bryant for a 19 yard touchdown that put Dallas ahead 42 21 and in total command with 12 12 left Stafford finished 26 of 46 for 260 yards and the one interception Detroit running back Zach Zenner produced two touchdowns and 67 yards on 12 carries while tight end Eric Ebron had eight receptions for 93 yards Bryant made a juggling one handed touchdown catch despite being interfered with by Lions cornerback Johnson Bademosi to tie the game at 21 going into halftime Prescott converted a third and 7 by hitting Bryant for the 25 yard touchdown with 1 04 left in the second quarter Detroit scored on its first three possessions to take a 21 14 lead with 7 40 remaining in the half Zenner ran 7 yards for the Lions first touchdown and 5 yards for the third Stafford plunged forward 1 yard to convert a fourth and goal and tie it at 14 Dallas struggled for most of the first half to stop the Lions combination of Stafford and Zenner Stafford finished the first half with 137 passing yards and Zenner rushed for 64 on 10 carries before intermission However Prescott and Elliott helped the Cowboys keep pace Prescott hit wide receiver Brice Butler for a 21 yard touchdown to give Dallas a 7 0 lead after its first drive Elliott broke loose for a 55 yard touchdown run late in the second quarter to put the Cowboys back in front 14 7 Elliott finished the first half with 74 yards on eight carries

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Trump remains opposed to AT T Time Warner deal Bloomberg

Reuters Donald Trump remains opposed to AT T Inc s N T planned 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc N TWX Bloomberg reported citing people close to the president elect Trump who has been silent about the transaction for months told a friend in the last few weeks that he still considers the merger to be a bad deal Bloomberg reported He believed the deal would concentrate too much power in the media industry Bloomberg said Shares of AT T were down 0 2 percent while Time Warner s stock was down 1 6 percent Trump s chief strategist Steve Bannon is also opposed to the deal Bloomberg reported citing another person Trump during his campaign had said AT T s proposal to buy the owner of CNN and the Warner Bros movie studio was an example of a power structure that was rigged against him and voters Trump s transition team AT T and Time Warner did not immediately respond to requests for comment

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AT T says Time Warner purchase could avoid FCC scrutiny

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters AT T Inc NYSE T expects to be able to bypass a powerful telecommunications regulator in its planned 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc N TWX the companies said in regulatory filings on Friday Time Warner said that since it does not plan to transfer any Federal Communications Commission licenses to AT T it would likely not need FCC approval and would only need the consent of the U S Justice Department AT T could forego the FCC by unloading a Time Warner broadcast station analysts say Despite its big media footprint Time Warner has only one FCC regulated broadcast station WPCH TV in Atlanta But it has other more minor FCC licenses Time Warner said in its filing it does not anticipate it will not need to transfer any of its FCC licenses to AT T in order to continue to conduct its business operations after the closing The deal faces other hurdles For example President elect Donald Trump has said he opposes the merger and on Friday a transition official told Reuters that Trump still was against the deal the deal Time Warner shareholders will meet on Feb 15 to decide whether to approve the deal The Justice Department has to prove a proposed deal harms competition in order to block it But the FCC has broad leeway to block a merger it deems is not in the public interest and can impose additional conditions AT T and Time Warner filed a premerger notification with the Justice Department on Nov 4 and on Dec 8 the Justice Department issued a second information request AT T which has repeatedly clashed with the FCC over the past several years over major industry regulations said in October that one benefit of its purchase is that Time Warner is lightly regulated compared to much of AT T s existing operations

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AT T chief executive Trump meet amid planned Time Warner merger

By Laila Kearney and David Shepardson NEW YORK Reuters AT T N T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson had an hour long meeting in New York on Thursday with U S President elect Donald Trump who has opposed the company s planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc N TWX A spokeswoman for Trump confirmed the meeting after Stephenson was seen entering Trump Tower A person briefed on the matter said Stephenson was meeting with the Trump transition team to discuss the 85 4 billion Time Warner deal Stephenson who was accompanied by Robert Quinn AT T s senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs would not answer questions from reporters An AT T spokesman declined to comment Shares of AT T and Time Warner were both trading up less than 1 percent in midmorning trading on New York Stock Exchange During his campaign for the White House Trump said AT T s proposal to buy the owner of the CNN news network and the Warner Bros movie studio was an example of a power structure that was rigged against him and voters It s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few said Trump who repeatedly accused the media of being biased against him and his campaign Since the election Trump has not commented publicly on the AT T Time Warner deal but he has sparred with CNN As Thursday s meeting was about to get under way Trump tweeted CNN is in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone An AT T spokesman declined to comment on the tweet from Trump A Time Warner spokesman did not respond immediately to a request for comment A Trump transition official told Reuters earlier this month that the president elect was still against the deal which would require antitrust approval from the U S Department of Justice It could also face a review by the Federal Communications Commission although the companies are considering ways to structure the deal to avoid that Time Warner shareholders will meet on Feb 15 to decide whether to approve the merger

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The Week Ahead Is This As Good As It Gets

Last week I wrote that there was so much on the calendar that it was impossible to choose a single theme This week presents the opposite problem In the wake of the big news what will command attention As I studied the data I was struck by the confluence of record results Put that together with record stock prices and there is a natural question for the ever skeptical punditry Is this as good as it gets Last Week Recap In the I predicted a paradise for the punditry gorging on a feast of data Fed news and policy proposals That was a pretty easy call and it did give us a chance to think about a range of key issues I noted that a lot of news does not necessarily translate into volatility and so it was The market shrugged off the appointment of a new Fed Chair Mueller s indictments and the GOP tax proposal The economic data was mixed and so was the market The Story in One Chart I always start my personal review of the week by looking at this great chart of the S P 500 via Jill Mislinski She notes the gain of 0 26 on the week after Friday s strength Once again it was a week of very low volatility the intra week range was less than 1 Historically 1 moves are commonplace each day Doug has a special knack for pulling together all the relevant information His charts save more than a thousand words Read the entire post for several more charts providing long term perspective including the size and frequency of drawdowns The News Each week I break down events into good and bad For our purposes good has two components The news must be market friendly and better than expectations I avoid using my personal preferences in evaluating news and you should too The economic news has been mostly positive as summarized by of long short and coincident indicators The Good Lumber futures are stronger the complexities of trends and tariffs concluding that this is a useful leading indicator for stocks Auto sales continued a hot streak The SAAR is now 18 1 million with good prospects for the end of 2017 Jerome Powell s nomination as Fed Chair was quietly accepted by markets With New York Fed President William Dudley reportedly about to announce his retirement there are four more openings to fill Consumer confidence measured by the Conference Board is at the highest level in 17 years is comprehensive and the summary chart is great show that future confidence is lower than the present Earnings reports remained strong with earning beat rates 4 8 higher than average and revenue beat rates 1 2 higher of the biggest winners and losers Initial jobless claims hit the lowest level since 1973 four week moving average Once again let us look at informative chart It helpfully shows the long term view but with a focus on the last year The Bad ISM manufacturing is cooling from a hot September The decline to 58 7 from last month s thirteen year high is modest they suggest They are also encouraged by the comments The rally is somewhat narrow Lara Crigger describes the presence of the Four Horseman in many ETFs The heavy weighting of these stocks can generate an exaggerated impression of overall strength The employment news While the report was mixed the headline number missed expectations so I ll score this as bad the lower labor force participation and lack of wage growth up only 2 4 over the last year The miss in the headline number was much smaller when considering upward revisions to the prior months ADP private job growth was solid J summarizes the data and reaches the following conclusion This was an excellent report in terms of labor utilization decent in terms of jobs growth and poor in terms of wages The big declines in unemployment underemployment involuntary part time employment and persons who want a job now but haven t looked have nudged us very close to what has been full employment in the past two expansions We may be as little as 1 5 million jobs away The Neutral This week had some news worth mentioning but without a real market effect The GOP tax reform proposal I have predicted that this would have no market effect and that proved true this week The original proposal sparked hundreds of articles on who would benefit from each provision This is a necessary process of course because information is needed before deciding That said the proposal is not close to mustering a Congressional majority has a nice detailed review of the proposal It includes the summary table below If you see yourself has getting a tax reduction what should you do I consulted Mrs OldProf who tracks issues like this with care although not as much as used following the Packers Her recommendation Do not spend the tax reform money just yet The Ugly Kids play time is 18 6 hours per week and 2 7 on homework The Week Ahead We would all like to know the direction of the market in advance Good luck with that Second best is planning what to look for and how to react The Calendar We have a very light data calendar The JOLTS report is interesting to wonks but usually spun into an inferior read on job growth The President s Asia trip will capture the news but few would venture a guess about the market effect We are past the peak of the earnings season but some important news remains has a good U S economic calendar for the week and many other good features which I monitor each day Here are the main U S releases Next Week s Theme With little on the calendar and so much space and time to fill for the financial media what will be the focus next week It is the opposite of last week when there were many possibilities As I was preparing the updates on data I noticed that many economic indicators are reaching record levels right along with stocks I suspect that this will be fertile ground for discussion next week Since the financial punditry always must dig deeper I expect to hear the question Is this as good as it gets Here are some perspectives in my customary bearish to bullish range Yes Some of these levels just cannot get much better Unemployment claims unemployment consumer confidence and the VIX are good examples And of course the over valued stock market will follow when these measures roll over Maybe The pros and the individual investors disagree The interesting charts show that bearish individual sentiment at the end of August coincided with the next leg of a rally The active manager exposure index has declined from 71 7 to 60 2 but this is viewed as a slightly lagging or concurrent indicator Eventually Volatility is at a record low Fund manager provides an interesting analysis of historical VIX readings with this conclusion What did I take away from this study Equity volatility does not change from ultra low to high overnight With equity volatility historically low do not expect a sharp economic or financial market correction absent some exogenous shock While equity multiples in the U S continue to be historically extended we could continue to see low volatility and rising stock prices over the next 12 months When equity volatility persists at an above average rate for an extended period of time as it did in 1999 and late 2007 and early 2008 it may be time to pare your risk and accumulate dry powder for a correction Not yet The record earnings expectations march higher and the stock multiple has not caught up Good is good Do not second guess the obvious The the need for advance planning followed by calm execution He reaches a conclusion like Urban Carmel s So the first myth that needs to be abolished is that one won t have the time to get out before the next crash Not true the 2007 2008 financial crisis is the first example showing that to be the case Anyone care to point out a more dire time in equity market history The best is yet ahead that sell in May missed s 7 9 gain He cites LPL s Ryan Detrick who showed that such contra seasonality gains have nearly always been associated with a further rally in the next six months Maybe a lot higher Davidson who has been very accurate throughout the rally analyzes economic fundamentals reaching the following conclusion in what calls some of his best work Economic indicators provide investment signals well before investor market psychology begins to shift Investors remain decently pessimistic while economic indicators forecast continued economic growth and higher profits As more investors turn optimistic markets should continue to rise higher I expect markets to rise as long as the T Bill 10yr Treasury rate spread remains favorable One cannot predict how high One can only discuss the potential The SP500 in 3yrs has the potential to reach 3 500 4 500 A wide range and over valued but it is impossible to predict how optimistic market psychology can become For now the best one can do is to simply say higher The cutoff point for equity investing will be in my opinion the T Bill 10yr Treasury rate spread narrowing to 0 20 At 1 35 today we have 2yrs 3yrs of higher equity markets ahead in my opinion As usual I ll have more in the Final Thought where I always emphasize my own conclusions In this case it includes what I see as most important Quant Corner We follow some regular featured sources and the best other quant news from the week Risk Analysis I have a rule for my investment clients Think first about your risk Only then should you consider possible rewards I monitor many quantitative reports and highlight the best methods in this weekly update The Indicator Snapshot The Featured Sources Business cycle analysis via the C Score Strong quantitative indicators for both economic and market analysis All things earnings for the overall market as well as many individual companies Business cycle indicator and market timing tools This week for improving the popular Shiller CAPE valuation indicator A key is that he takes a 35 year moving average to include multiple business cycles and smooth the effects of changes in earnings reporting This is an interesting approach but it does not leave very many cases of signals Quants will really love this article Regular updating of an array of indicators Great charts and analysis With all the recent data it is time for another look at the Big Four indicators most relevant for recession dating via Guest Sources Urban Carmel joins the many who see the near term recession risk as low Check out his for details Want to know more about the Atlanta Fed s GDP Now program to a podcast interview with Pat Higgins a policy adviser and economist who created the tool Let s also look at the for Q417 Insight for Traders We have not quit our discussion of trading ideas The weekly Stock Exchange column is bigger and better than ever We combine links to trading articles topical themes and ideas from our trading models is about the advantage of diversity when a pullback is threatened To illustrate we provided some historical data on the trading models And of course there are updated ratings lists for Felix and Oscar this week featuring small caps has taken the lead role on this post using information from me and from the models He is doing a great job Insight for Investors Investors should have a long term horizon They can often exploit trading volatility Best of the Week If I had to pick a single most important source for investors to read this week it would be on politics and investing As usual they make their argument with charts In this case the topic should be familiar to WTWA readers Don t mix political opinions and investing I maintain that understanding likely policy outcomes will improve investment results Some readers confuse this with political advocacy Sometimes the policy issues matter to the market and we should all pay attention Bespoke provides two excellent charts the first showing President Trumps plummeting approval rating The second shows approval ratings and the stock market during the Trump administration This is like the early response to President Obama We must monitor events but do so without getting political passions involved Stock Ideas his list of dividend champions and contenders for November Financial engineering An looks deeply into the debate over Restoration Hardware NYSE RH suspecting a near term spike higher Want to participate in the bot revolution Here are analyzes AT T NYSE T asking whether this high yielding dividend aristocrat is a value trap I don t think so but selling near term calls against stocks like this is a winning long term strategy Lee Jackson highlights four dividend stocks recommended by UBS Electric vehicles and Personal Finance Seeking Alpha Senior Editor Gil Weinreich has an interesting topic every day His own commentary adds insight and ties together key current articles As usual this week he had several good articles but my discusses takes up the question of whether retirees should use a bucketing approach or treat assets as a unitary portfolio He cites a by investment manager Ron Surz Alan Steel has a witty analysis of the many predictions of Albert Edwards Look at the article titles as well as the publications featuring his viewpoints Abnormal Returns is always interesting but the is especially geared to individual investors My favorite this week raises the about retirement saving Suze Orman says you should not retire until you are 70 Money disagrees Watch out for Morningstar ratings Those stars describe history Not so good at helping you think about the future Unproven claims that marijuana can cure cancer If that does not matter to you here are the to legalize the drug Gallup reports than 64 of Americans support legalization for recreational use Final Thoughts Can we expect to identify market tops from the record strength in economic indicators No This is one of the most deceptive practices and sadly a common one Writers who are perpetually bearish or bullish will interpret data in a straightforward fashion when it suits their purpose When it does not the predict something like the sunset always follows the sunrise I call this the Chauncey Gardiner approach It is just as naive as it is in and verges on intellectual dishonesty If I seem unusually exercised by this topic you are reading me right When indicators and markets finally roll over and get worse we will be able to look back and spot the top That is much different from a real time forecast The current level of economic strength can continue or improve perhaps for years Many pounce on the first decline in an indicator and leap to an unwarranted conclusion This is not just a bearish trait When the market was reaching new lows in 2008 the same argument was made by bulls including Mr Buffett How long can things go Buy when there is fear These comments were right but it took several months While a relatively short time on a historical stock chart it seemed like an eternity to investors as markets declined much further Trying to guess the top or bottom from improving or worsening indicators is a fool s errand Stocks are driven by earnings and interest rate expectations These factors remain favorable as I record each week We have no special threats to financial stability and plenty of fear built into the market I also expect the slower economic indicators to follow the soft data that many try to dismiss Monitoring these factors is one of the prime missions of WTWA What worries me Mueller indictments and President Trump s response This is still on my list The first indictments showed an inclination to move up a chain of possible offenders If a Trump family member is included and the President fires Mueller the Nixon era comparisons will get headlines N B I refer not to the substance of the issue but to the market reaction The Asian trip I wish the President had more willingness to use expert advice With important trade and security matters at stake it is an opportunity to improve some ties with needed allies and what doesn t Stock valuation Since I regard the most popular levels as flawed I focus on expected earnings and alternative opportunities While some individual stocks seem richly valued I am having little trouble finding attractive choices Low VIX readings The so called fear gauge is low because actual trading volatility is low Again this is something we document each week If you have been trading on an expected increase in the fear gauge you have been losing

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Fox Square Roku And E l f Beat On Earnings

Twenty First Century Fox NASDAQ FOXA following an eventful regular trading day discussing merger and acquisition shuffling between itself Disney Time Warner and AT T NYSE T reported fiscal Q1 2018 earnings results after the bell today The multi media major beat the Zacks consensus estimate by a penny on the bottom line to 49 cents per share whereas revenues outpaced the 6 87 billion estimate to 7 00 billion Fox did not enter the fray on new reports relating to Disney or the other companies being talked about today but upon releasing Q1 numbers the company said it is clear to close on its Sky Broadcasting purchase by June 30 2018 absent any further delays Mobile payment company Square Inc NYSE SQ posted a beat on its top and bottom line in its latest quarter with earnings outperforming estimates by a penny on better than expected revenues This is the fourth earnings beat in the past five quarters the outlier was a meet and earnings rose year over year roughly 170 Square now approaches the market value of the other company CEO Jack Dorsey runs Twitter The maiden voyage in public earnings results for entertainment streaming company Roku NASDAQ ROKU was an extremely good showing a bottom line of 10 cents per share far outperformed estimates of 1 37 whereas revenues were also much better than expected at 124 8 million from the 110 5 million consensus Active accounts rose 48 streaming hours went up 58 and average revenue per user ARPU up 37 year over year ROKU shares have blasted off 27 as of this initial earnings report Beauty products retailer e l f NYSE ELF which stands for eyes lips face also blew away estimates after today s closing bell earnings of 17 cents per share bested the 9 cents expected and 71 9 million in quarterly sales topped the estimated 68 5 million The 28 increase in Q3 sales actually outpaced guidance resulting in a 5 sell off in late trading

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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Twenty First Century Fox Square Roku And E l f

For Immediate ReleaseChicago IL November 9 2017 Zacks com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets Stocks recently featured in the blog include Twenty First Century Fox NASDAQ FOXA Square Inc NYSE SQ Roku NASDAQ ROKU and e l f NYSE ELF Here are highlights from Wednesday s Analyst Blog Fox Square Roku and e l f All Beat EstimatesTwenty First Century Fox following an eventful regular trading day discussing merger and acquisition shuffling between itself Disney Time Warner and AT T NYSE T reported fiscal Q1 2018 earnings results after the bell today The multi media major beat the Zacks consensus estimate by a penny on the bottom line to 49 cents per share whereas revenues outpaced the 6 87 billion estimate to 7 00 billion Fox did not enter the fray on new reports relating to Disney or the other companies being talked about today but upon releasing Q1 numbers the company said it is clear to close on its Sky Broadcasting purchase by June 30 2018 absent any further delays Mobile payment company Square Inc posted a beat on its top and bottom line in its latest quarter with earnings outperforming estimates by a penny on better than expected revenues This is the fourth earnings beat in the past five quarters the outlier was a meet and earnings rose year over year roughly 170 Square now approaches the market value of the other company CEO Jack Dorsey runs Twitter The maiden voyage in public earnings results for entertainment streaming company Roku was an extremely good showing a bottom line of 10 cents per share far outperformed estimates of 1 37 whereas revenues were also much better than expected at 124 8 million from the 110 5 million consensus Active accounts rose 48 streaming hours went up 58 and average revenue per user ARPU up 37 year over year ROKU shares have blasted off 27 as of this initial earnings report Beauty products retailer e l f which stands for eyes lips face also blew away estimates after today s closing bell earnings of 17 cents per share bested the 9 cents expected and 71 9 million in quarterly sales topped the estimated 68 5 million The 28 increase in Q3 sales actually outpaced guidance resulting in a 5 sell off in late trading Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook NASDAQ FB Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities including a broker dealer and an investment adviser which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates Media ContactZacks Investment Research800 767 3771 ext 9339Past performance is no guarantee of future results Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment legal accounting or tax advice or a recommendation to buy sell or hold a security No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor It should not be assumed that any investments in securities companies sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking market making or asset management activities of any securities These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks The S P 500 is an unmanaged index Visit for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release

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Murdoch s Twenty First Century Fox bids 14 1 billion for UK s Sky

By Jessica Toonkel Reuters Rupert Murdoch s Twenty First Century Fox Inc O FOXA has made a 14 1 billion bid for the remaining shares of European pay TV group Sky Plc L SKYB that the U S company does not already own the British broadcaster said on Friday Fox is Sky s largest shareholder with a 39 1 percent stake according to Thomson Reuters data By owning all of Sky Fox whose cable networks include Fox News and FX the New York based media company would have control of a distribution platform in Europe Marrying distribution with content is becoming increasingly important in the competitive media landscape Earlier this year AT T NYSE T announced an 85 4 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Inc N TWX Sky s shares rose 26 7 percent to over 10 pounds in London while Fox s shares were down 1 9 percent at 28 08 shortly after midday on Nasdaq Fox s cash offer of 10 75 pounds per share is a 36 2 percent premium to Sky s Thursday close and values the company at about 18 48 billion pounds 23 23 billion According to Reuters calculations Fox will pay 11 25 billion pounds for the stake in Sky that it does not already own Fox Chief Executive James Murdoch was named chairman of Sky this year fueling speculation that the U S media company would make a bid Murdoch said in 2015 that for Fox having 40 percent of an unconsolidated asset was not an end state that is natural for us but it had no immediate plans to buy the rest of the company Sky which has formed an independent committee to consider terms of the proposal said discussions were ongoing

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Argentine firm reaches 112 8 million deal with U S in FIFA probe

By Mica Rosenberg and Nate Raymond NEW YORK Reuters U S prosecutors on Tuesday announced an agreement allowing Argentine sports media Torneos y Competencias SA to pay about 112 8 million to settle charges stemming from a sweeping bribery probe targeting FIFA soccer s world governing body The deferred prosecution agreement with Torneos whose former chief executive pleaded guilty last year to engaging in schemes to bribe soccer officials was approved by U S District Judge Pamela Chen at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn Under the deal Torneos agreed to forfeit 89 million and pay a 23 76 million penalty Prosecutors charged it with one count of wire fraud conspiracy which will be dropped if it abides by the agreement s terms for four years Outside of court Ignacio Galarza the company s general manager said he welcomed the agreement which is the first with a company in the FIFA corruption probe Today is a great day for us as we start to leave this investigation behind Galarza told reporters In a statement Brooklyn U S Attorney Robert Capers said the company cooperated and is being given a chance to change the way the business of soccer is done in the future As part of the agreement the company said it would implement internal compliance and accounting controls The company is one of 43 people and entities charged as part of a U S investigation that upended Zurich based FIFA and the soccer world To date 20 people and two related companies have pleaded guilty in connection with the probe Torneos is 40 percent owned by DirecTV which AT T Inc NYSE T acquired in 2015 In August 2015 DirecTV valued its stake at 147 million but said its investment could be adversely impacted by the probe Prosecutors said Torneos paid bribes and kickbacks to high ranking soccer officials over 15 years to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights for international soccer tournaments Torneos paid millions of dollars in bribes to acquire the broadcasting rights for the 2018 2022 2026 and 2030 World Cup games in several South American countries according to court documents The court documents also say that Torneos paid millions of dollars in annual bribes to support its affiliate T T Sports Marketing An affiliate of Twenty First Century Fox Inc owns 75 percent of T T and Torneos owns 25 percent according to Torneos L1N1420MF Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment Torneos paid the bribes and kickbacks with the agreement and support of the U S broadcasting company affiliates and their representatives prosecutors said The case is U S v Torneos y Competencias SA U S District Court Eastern District of New York No 16 cr 00634

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Surging dollar skittles euro yen and EM currencies

By Marc Jones LONDON Reuters The dollar surged to a near 14 year high on Thursday clocking up a string of milestones against other top world currencies and clobbering emerging markets Stronger data from the world s biggest economy underpinned the greenback s gains which were further amplified by thinner volumes as U S traders stayed away for the Thanksgiving holiday FOX The dollar pushed its way past more of last year s peaks against the euro to hit 1 0550 in early European action with only the March 2015 high of 1 0457 standing in the way of a drive toward parity The yen skidded to an eight month low and China s yuan to an 8 1 2 year low while the highly sensitive Turkish lira and Indian rupee hit new historic troughs EMRG FRX There doesn t seem to be anything stopping U S yields going higher in the near term so I think people are going to stay on the dollar trend said Michael Metcalfe head of global macro strategy at State Street Global Markets The only risk to this are that the dislocations in markets outside of the U S particularly in emerging markets get to a point where they start to feed back into concerns for the Federal Reserve as it looks to raise interest rates he said In contrast to all the FX noise European shares FTEU3 saw a broadly quiet start with most of the main bourses 0 INDEXE edging marginally higher on gains from chemical and insurance firms EU German business confidence data showed firms remained unfazed for now at least by the U S election win for Donald Trump and the political uncertainty currently bubbling in euro zone peers such as Italy However the European Central Bank delivered an unusually downbeat message warning that global political shifts could compound existing vulnerabilities to rising interest rates and revive worries about the euro zone s weaker sovereigns This in turn could delay much needed fiscal and structural reforms and could in a worst case scenario reignite pressures on more vulnerable sovereigns it added In particular concerns about debt sustainability might re emerge despite relatively benign financial market conditions EMERGING STRAINS It was enough to keep bond markets playing the transatlantic divide that has been widening again on bets that while the United States may be about to raise interest rates Europe is unlikely to follow suit for a couple of years The yield on Germany s 10 year government bond the benchmark for the region fell 4 2 basis points to 0 24 percent while Italy which has been plagued by political concerns ahead of a referendum on constitutional reform outperformed with yields down 7 basis points to 2 06 percent In the United States on Wednesday the two year government bond yield US2YT RR hit its highest since April 2010 The firm dollar kept most emerging market currencies on the ropes with China s yuan nearing the 7 per dollar level for the first time since May 2008 CNY State banks or foreign exchange authorities in China India Indonesia and the Philippines were all suspected of intervening to slow the slide in their currencies traders said Turkey s lira and India s rupee both rang in record lows MSCI s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan MIAPJ0000PUS lost 0 4 percent though the drop in the yen lifted the export orientated Nikkei in Tokyo N225 to a near 11 month high T Hong Kong s Hang Seng HSI shed 0 2 percent while higher metals prices lifted China s blue chip CSI300 index 0 4 percent Oil prices were little changed amid all the dollar commotion and ahead of a planned OPEC led cut in crude production at a meeting on Nov 30 O R U S crude was up 3 cents at 47 99 a barrel CLc1 and Brent LCOc1 was flat at 48 95 Industrial metals remained red hot on hopes of a revival in U S manufacturing and infrastructure spending under Trump London zinc hit an 8 year high and copper jumped for a fourth day in a row to put 6 000 a ton within reach MET L Strong durable goods orders in the U S helped buoy investors who have viewed Trump s upcoming presidency as a positive for industrial metals demand said ANZ in a report For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters realtime verb Open url

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AT T unveils DirecTV Now streaming service ahead of November 30 launch

NEW YORK Reuters AT T Inc NYSE T the largest U S TV provider took the wraps off its new DirecTV Now streaming service on Monday two days before it enters the online video service market to win subscribers who shun pay television subscriptions DirecTV Now will launch at prices ranging from 35 a month for over 60 channels to 70 for over 120 channels AT T said For a limited time more than 100 channels will be available for 35 the company said AT T announced the subscription video service in March promising on demand and live programing from many networks over the Internet similar to Sling TV and PlayStation Vue But details on the service had been limited AT T is counting on the mobile video market for new revenue as most U S consumers already have wireless service and further growth is limited AT T acquired DirecTV for 48 5 billion last year making it the largest U S pay TV operator with 25 3 million video subscribers in an effort to diversify into the media and entertainment business AT T also plans to buy Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX for 85 4 billion to gain control of premium content from networks such as HBO as online video competition is expected to heat up It is really important to understand that this is the foundation for how we are going to do things in the future John Stankey chief executive of AT T s entertainment group said at a media event in New York DirecTV Now will help AT T target a new market segment including consumers who cannot pass credit checks for pay TV subscriptions and those who shun pricey pay TV connections Stankey said DirecTV Now content will include live and on demand video from Walt Disney Co Twenty First Century fox Viacom Inc and Scripps Networks Interactive NASDAQ SNI AT T has said The company is actively working to bring CBS Corp NYSE CBS programing to its service executives said on Monday

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Can SBA Communications SBAC Deliver A Beat In Q3 Earnings

SBA Communications Corporation NASDAQ SBAC is slated to report third quarter 2017 results on Oct 30 after the closing bell Last quarter the leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure in the United States delivered a negative earnings surprise of 5 00 Moreover the company s earnings lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the previous four quarters with an average miss of 61 93 Let s see how things are shaping up for this announcement Why Do We Expect a Positive Surprise Our proven model shows that SBA Communications is likely to beat estimates because it has the right combination of the two key elements Zacks ESP SBA Communications has an of 12 00 This is because the Most Accurate estimate is at 28 cents while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 25 cents This is a significant indicator of a likely positive earnings surprise You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they re reported with our Zacks Rank SBA Communications has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Note that stocks with a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 have a significantly higher chance of beating estimates Meanwhile Sell rated stocks Zacks Rank 4 or 5 should never be considered going into an earnings announcement The combination of the company s favorable Zacks Rank and positive ESP makes us confident of an earnings beat SBA Communications Corporation Price and EPS Surprise What is Driving the Better than Expected Earnings SBA Communications is poised to gain from rapid technological improvement in the telecommunication industry The upcoming 5G wireless network standard is a major positive for wireless tower operators like SBA Communications Based on its tower operations the company is optimistic about the global growth of wireless business and thus anticipates international expansion The company s tower buyouts in emerging markets and long term tower leases with major wireless carriers should drive top line and lend it a competitive edge On the back of such tailwinds the company s shares have rallied 7 7 as against the s decline of 1 5 On the flip side we remain concerned about SBA Communications top line which is likely to get affected by high customer concentration and consolidated wireless industry The company derives majority of its total quarterly revenues from four major domestic wireless carriers Verizon Wireless AT T NYSE T Sprint Corp NYSE S and T Mobile US Inc NYSE S Loss of any of these customers or consolidation among them will lead to a significant material impact on the top line Although the company s operations in the United States and other territories boost its geographic expansion and revenues it may jeopardize the bottom line Notably tower operations in emerging markets are not as profitable in the mature domestic market Evolution of new technologies may reduce demand for site leases In addition frequent changes in demand for network services and infrastructure support will tend to increase volatility in SBA Communications revenues A Closer View of Certain Important MetricsImprovement in revenues holds promise for SBA Communications segments While the revenues for the Site Leasing segment is estimated around 408 million by the Zacks Consensus Estimate while the same for Site Development segment is anticipated at 23 79 million In the third quarter of 2017 Domestic Site Leasing revenues are expected at 330 million and International Site Leasing revenues are projected at 77 million Per estimates the company has plans to construct 114 towers and purchase 211 towers in the to be reported quarter The company will acquire 52 domestic sites and 106 international sites in the said quarter The increase in the number of towers and sites to be purchased portrays an improvement in the company s operations Key PickHere is a company in the broader which houses SBA Communications which has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter Windstream Holdings Inc NASDAQ WIN has an Earnings ESP of 18 03 and carries a Zacks Rank 3 You can see The company is expected to release third quarter 2017 earnings on Nov 6 The company s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in one of the previous four quarters Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look

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Time Warner TWX Beats Again Tops Q3 Earnings Revenues

Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX one of the leading media conglomerates came out with third quarter 2017 results wherein adjusted earnings of 1 82 per share substantially beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 58 but dipped 0 5 year over year Including one time items earnings per share came in at 1 73 per share down from 1 87 reported in the prior year quarter AT T NYSE T which has agreed to acquire media giant Time Warner is anticipated to close the deal by the end of 2017 Earnings Estimate Revision The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 has been portraying an uptrend in the last seven days In the trailing four quarters excluding the quarter under review the company outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 16 7 Time Warner Inc Price and EPS Surprise Revenues The company s revenues increased nearly 6 year over year to 7 595 million and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 412 million The increase was driven by gains in all segments Zacks Rank Currently Time Warner carries a Zacks Rank 4 Sell which is subject to change following the earnings announcement You can see Check back later for our full write up on Time Warner s earnings report Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look

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Warner Bros has deal for rest of Machinima

As signaled last month Warner Bros TWX 2 has its deal to buy the remainder of gamer focused digital media network Machinima Terms weren t disclosed though last month s sticking point was Machinima seeking a value of 150M vs the Warner approach less than 100M Warner had first invested in 2014 Machinima the 10th biggest online video company in the country will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros Digital Networks a unit created in June and find a home there alongside content based on Warner s DC Comics franchise And it should fit into AT T s T 0 7 plans for acquiring Time Warner expanding digital video offerings that can be sent to AT T smartphones

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M A animal spirits up on Trump s AG pick

The president elect intends to nominate Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General While the immediate focus in much of the media seems likely to be his hardline stance against illegal immigration Evercore ISI s Terry Haines says the choice means an immediate shift from the red light antitrust policy of the Obama administration Source BloombergThat of course would be of particular interest to AT T NYSE T and Time Warner NYSE TWX as well as Bayer OTCPK BAYRY and Monsanto NYSE MON

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AT T to launch DirecTV Now Nov 28 Moffett notes slim margin

AT T T 0 2 promised to launch its DirecTV Now streaming product this month and it s squeezing in with a post Thanksgiving event The company s set to launch the service formally Nov 28 and join an increasingly crowded virtual MVPD sector though it promised aggressive competition on price and the benefit of zero rating its content for wireless subscribers The company s taking a risk with a 35 month price point says analyst Craig Moffett who figures that at netting 1 above the cost of the programming setting up a negative margin once customer service and other costs are figured in On the plus side AT T will discourage cannibalization by making DirecTV Now single stream one program at a time Like running with scissors it probably won t be life threatening the number of subscribers they will cannibalize won t be large enough to inflict a mortal wound to their own business and the single stream limitation and inherent drawbacks of an OTT service will similarly limit the damage to the Pay TV ecosystem overall Still we believe DirecTV is playing a dangerous game Moffett says

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Reese Witherspoon AT T venture form media company aimed at women

By Tim Baysinger Reuters Otter Media the joint venture between AT T Inc NYSE T and The Chernin Group has partnered with Reese Witherspoon to form a new multimedia company Hello Sunshine aimed at telling female driven stories Witherspoon s involvement in Hello Sunshine will come via her production company Pacific Standard which counts films Wild Gone Girl and the upcoming HBO series Big Little Lies among its credits As a subsidiary of Hello Sunshine Pacific Standard will continue to make TV shows and films but now will also branch out to include shorter run digital content tailored for social media AT T partnered with longtime media executive Peter Chernin to form Otter Media in 2014 as a way to capitalize on the booming streaming video industry committing more than 500 million to buy and or launch new companies The new company could give AT T an early stake hold in a marketplace currently light on content made both for and by women A study by USC Annenberg found that female characters made up only 28 7 percent of all speaking roles in film while women accounted for just 15 percent of directors Witherspoon launched Pacific Standard with her producing partner Bruna Papandrea in 2012 as a means to get more women both behind and in front of the camera in more prominent roles Papandrea recently left to start her own venture Otter Media s portfolio includes digital media company Fullscreen Media which owns digital studio Rooster Teeth social marketing agency McBeard and Gunpowder Sky the digital studio launched by former Viacom executive Van Toffler Otter Media also has invested in the Japanese anime and gaming space with two streaming video services in Crunchyroll and VRV Earlier this year Chernin Group also acquired sports media company Barstool Sports AT T has been in the process of acquiring Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX a deal expected to close next year should it pass regularly hurdles Last week Time Warner s studio Warner Bros agreed to acquire all of digital media company Machinima a competitor to Fullscreen Kerry Tucker will serve as chief executive of Hello Sunshine Tucker most recently engineered the sale of The Video Genome Project a content recommendation start up to Hulu Seth Rodsky founding partner of Strand Equity Partners is partnered with Witherspoon on the deal and will join the Hello Sunshine board This story corrects 6th paragraph to show Chernin Group not Otter Media acquired Barstool Sports

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AT T signs on Fox for DirectTV Now

By Jessica Toonkel Reuters AT T N T has signed a deal with Fox Networks Group to continue showing its networks across its offerings including its online video service DirectTV Now the two companies announced on Monday The signing of Fox leaves CBS Corp N CBS as the last major holdout not to have its networks on DirectTV Now which will have a mix of live and on demand broadcasts on over 100 channels and will cost 35 per month AT T is holding a launch event on Nov 28 to provide more details about the service Under the agreement 21st Century Fox s O FOXA networks including its popular Fox New Channel FX Big Ten Network and its regional sports networks will be available to DirecTV viewers according to a statement by the company At a conference last month AT T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said he expected Fox to be part of the DirectTV Now package Twenty First Century Fox is a co owner of Hulu which is planning to launch its own online video streaming service that will include live programming early next year

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AT T Misses Q3 Earnings Posts 3 Million Total Wireless Net Adds

AT T Inc NYSE T just released its third quarter fiscal 2017 financial results posting adjusted earnings of 74 cents per share and revenues of 39 7 billion Currently T is a Zacks Rank 3 Hold and is down 1 66 to 34 28 per share in trading shortly after its earnings report was released AT T Missed earnings estimates The company posted adjusted earnings of 74 cents per share just missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents per share Net income attributable to AT T was 3 billion for the quarter Missed revenue estimates The company saw consolidated revenue figures of 39 7 billion lagging a bit behind our consensus estimate of 40 27 billion The company reported 3 million total wireless net adds for the quarter 2 3 million in the U S and nearly 700 000 in Mexico U S net adds were driven by connected devices prepaid and postpaid AT T had best ever Q3 postpaid phone churn of 0 84 which shows the success of its video and wireless bundling strategy The company also expanded its operating income margin of 30 5 with best ever EBITDA margins of 42 and wireless service margin of 50 4 We look forward to closing our acquisition of Time Warner and bringing together premium content with world class distribution to deliver a better entertainment experience for consumers and more effective targeted advertising said Randall Stephenson AT T Inc chairman and CEO We re also on track to have one of the largest high speed internet networks in the U S reaching more than 50 million customer locations with competitive high speeds This expansion will make our bundled video mobile and broadband services even more compelling AT T maintains its full year guidance AT T is a premier telecom company Its subsidiaries and affiliates AT T operating companies are the providers of AT T services in the U S and around the world Among their offerings are the world s most advanced IP based business communications services the nation s fastest 3G network and the best wireless coverage worldwide and the nation s leading high speed Internet access and voice services Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest Strategies It s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 18 8 from 2016 Q1 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 157 0 128 0 97 8 94 7 and 90 2 respectively And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 Q1 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation

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AT T pressing case to dismiss FTC s data throttling lawsuit

AT T T 0 4 is still pushing to dismiss a federal case over throttling that the Federal Trade Commission is continuing to appeal The telecom got a court win in August when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the FTC s suit which had charged the company with cutting Internet speeds on customers who held unlimited data plans The FTC said it would seek a re hearing since the court decision had significant ramifications for its authority Now AT T has filed papers with the court asking that the previous dismissal be upheld At the end of the day the FTC cannot dispute that in the 102 year history of the FTC Act it has never been permitted to press a case against a common carrier AT T says in its filing A decision of this court re affirming that age old result is not one of exceptional importance warranting review

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AT T falls in line on offering downscaled mobile video feature

AT T T 0 2 is taking a page out of T Mobile s TMUS 0 7 playbook when it comes to videos and their massive data appetite The telecom s new Stream Saver feature is designed to make limited data buckets go further for customers by streaming most higher definition video to mobile devices at standard definition quality DVD level about 480p It will be available on AT T s most popular plans with data including GoPhone prepaid and customers will be able to turn it on or off If that sounds familiar it s similar to what T Mobile did when introducing its Binge On feature exempting a wide swath of video viewing from data buckets but doing so by downscaling the video to 480p But Binge On has raised chatter about whether exempting data violates provisions of the FCC s net neutrality regulations designed to treat all data equally without favor AT T s plan isn t free data but promises to use less data when watching video if customers choose to turn it on AT T is planning to zero rate exempt entirely content on its upcoming DirecTV Now streaming video service for its own wireless customers

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Synacor 5 5 Q3 results better than projected

Results revenue 31 72M 20 4 Y Y 1 03M above estimates company issued guidance 29M 31M EPS 0 11 0 08 above estimates net loss 3 4M adjusted EBITDA 0 2M company issued guidance 2M to 3M Q4 projections revenue 34M 38M net loss 2 5M 3 2M adjusted EBITDA 0 0M 1MFY 2016 projections revenue 126M 130M net loss 10 2M 10 9M adjusted EBITDA 2M 3M Synacor NASDAQ SYNC CEO Himesh Bhise We are making great strides in advancing our technology and products in particular this quarter with our AT T NYSE T partnership Zimbra Open Source and Cloud ID offerings We remain well positioned in the growing digital markets that we serve and are on track to deliver on our target of 300 million in revenue and 30 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2019 Prior quarters overviewConference callPress release

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AT T NASA to build national drone tracking system

Although a press release was published a few days ago news outlets are now reporting that AT T NYSE T will collaborate with NASA to develop an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management program to allow agencies to monitor drones The solution will make it safer for drone operators to plan and monitor flight paths navigate UAVs use drones for surveillance and will likely reduce the threat of cyberattacks

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Telecom Giant Looks For Support Ahead Of Earnings

It s easy to see that telecom giant AT T NYSE T has been under selling pressure recently The stock has been falling since it peaked in January at 43 03 a share Today it s trading around 36 The pattern on the charts still remains weak as T trades below its 50 and 200 day moving averages Traders should now watch the 34 area as the next major support level which is where the stock was defended in January 2016 and is likely to find new support when retested Just remember that AT T reports earnings on October 24

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Accounting rule change could boost AT T Time Warner synergies

The synergies from AT T s T 0 9 85B deal for Time Warner TWX 1 5 could be that much sweeter due to an accounting change coming to revenue recognition in 2018 and using lessons AT T learned in the DirecTV deal The new standard affects recognizing revenues from customer contracts creating issues for companies that feature factors like tiered pricing volume discounts and other marketing offers and contract modifications along with other contract terms AT T and Time Warner expect synergies of 1B within three years of closing But aside from how the new standards affect stand alone AT T such as allocating and timing of revenues between services and handsets Time Warner sports a programming licensing backlog of 6 9B That s future revenue not yet recognized and under the new standard licenses could be treated as transferable rights MarketWatch notes And that could give AT T closer control over measurement of deferred taxes and income taxes along with a positive effect on shareholder equity

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Time Warner down over 2 on Trump opposition to AT T deal

Investing com Time Warner NYSE TWX fell Wednesday on president elect Trump s stated opposition to 85 bn merger with AT T NYSE T Time Warner was off 2 5 at 85 65 in pre market trade AT T was up 0 2 at 37 08 AT T is offering 107 50 a share to acquire Time Warner and boost its online content Time Warner is trading below the bid price on doubts the deal will get regulatory approval During his campaign for the presidency Trump described the tie up as an example of a power structure It s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few Trump said

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Trump victory threatens AT T Time Warner other media deals

Time Warner TWX 1 6 is lower the morning after America elected Donald Trump its next president the man who called deals like AT T s T 0 5 85B buyout pact poison Deals like this destroy democracy Trump said at a recent rally speaking about the buyout He said a Trump administration would never sign off on the acquisition since AT T and CNN together would be too much concentration of power in the hands of too few That likely includes ripple effects on what has been a fairly rapidly consolidating media sector Lions Gate LGF 0 6 and Starz STRZA 0 4 are set to combine and a number of other deals are in the speculative stages as telecoms and content creators adjust to a shifting landscape AT T looks forward to working with Trump and says it s still optimistic about the Time Warner deal according to CFO John Stephens

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Starz networks joining DirecTV Now launch

Starz STRZA 0 7 is joining in on AT T s T 1 7 DirecTV Now streaming service The Starz and Starz Encore premium channels also including Starz Encore Westerns eight in total will be part of the new service when it launches this month and more will be part at a later date including entire video on demand catalogs Starz has slowly been making a splash in the shifting media world growing its original series including Power Survivor s Remorse Outlander and Ash vs Evil Dead and nabbing first window rights to blockbusters including Star Wars The Force Awakens and Avengers Age of Ultron

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FCC writes AT T with serious concerns about zero rating plans

After some high profile hand wringing about whether AT T s plan to give its customers data cap exemptions for impending streaming service DirecTV Now violated net neutrality practices the FCC has weighed in further The agency wrote AT T T 2 3 to express serious concerns about the practice known as zero rating It may obstruct competition and harm consumers by constraining their ability to access existing and future mobile video services not affiliated with AT T AT T actually began zero rating with the DirecTV video app in September but the wide launch of DirecTV Now promising more than 100 channels for a base 35 month will make stark the differences in data usage between those who are AT T wireless customers and those who aren t AT T s Robert Quinn responds We welcome any video provider that wishes to sponsor its content in the same data free way We ll do so on equal terms at our lowest wholesale rates Previously AT T sets streaming TV service price at 35 month Oct 25 2016

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U S FCC says it has serious concerns about AT T Direct TV mobile video service

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The U S Federal Communications Commission told AT T Inc N T it has serious concerns about whether rivals will be able to compete with its DirecTV Now online video service that will cost 35 a month and demanded answers by Nov 21 The FCC wireless telecommunications bureau told AT T in a letter reviewed Thursday by Reuters that AT T s DirecTV service and its zero rated app may obstruct competition and harm consumers because it could be too expensive for rivals not affiliated with AT T to sponsor data programs to compete The offerings may violate the FCC s 2015 net neutrality rules the government said The online video service will cost 35 per month including mobile streaming costs and target viewers who shun pay television subscriptions AT T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said last month The wireless company s streaming video service which launches late next month will have more than 100 channels Last month AT T announced plans to acquire Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX for 85 4 billion and some public interest groups are concerned that the combined company could put rival content providers at a disadvantage The Time Warner deal gives AT T control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets Time Warner content will be incorporated into the upcoming video service Stephenson said Bob Quinn AT T s senior executive vice president said in a statement the service of allowing mobile users to watch video without incurring data charges are incredibly popular services that we hope regulators won t take away from the millions of people who enjoy them today He said the program makes it easier for consumers to drop cable and said it will treat rivals equally We welcome any video provider that wishes to sponsor its content in the same data free way for AT T Mobility customers and we ll do so on equal terms at our lowest wholesale rates Quinn said The FCC letter from wireless telecommunication bureau chief Jon Wilkins said rival providers would face potential higher costs that DirecTV would not including overage fees and or reduced transmission fees if subscribers exceeded allowances under their plan AT T is betting big on mobile video to tap new revenue as the U S wireless market stagnates AT T acquired DirecTV for 48 5 billion in 2015 making it the largest U S pay TV operator with 25 3 million video subscribers